The Influence of a Virtual Reality Leisure Intervention Program on the Motivation of Older Adult Stroke Survivors: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND About one-third of American adults have prediabetes and are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies provide a scalable approach to diabetes prevention by encouraging physical activity (PA), weight loss, and adherence to a healthy diet in large numbers of patients. OBJECTIVE To identify factors associated with improvements in PA and glycated hemoglobin (A1c) measures among prediabetic adults who received a mobile intervention program (smartphone app in combination with a digital body weight scale) in a previously completed pilot study. METHODS We conducted a post hoc analysis of a 3-month prospective, single-arm, observational study using the Sweetch™ mHealth intervention among adults with prediabetes. Change in A1C was calculated as the difference between the 3-month and baseline A1C measurements and was categorized as decrease vs. no decrease. PA was evaluated using the total minutes and metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-hours per week. Change in MET-hours/week was categorized as increase vs. no increase. Age, sex, race, education, employment status, area deprivation, smartphone usage attitudes, and PA stage of change were compared between groups by outcomes of change in A1C and change in MET-hour/week. RESULTS A total of 37 adults received the final Sweetch mobile intervention and were included in the analysis. 62% were female and 81% were white, with average age of 57 years. The median [IQR] baseline A1C was 6.0% [5.8, 6.2]. A1C measure at 3-month was decreased in 24 (65%) participants when compared to baseline A1C. There was an inverse association between average MET-hours per week and change in A1C. Among participants whose A1C decreased vs. did not decrease, the MET-hours per week in last 2 weeks of study was 18.7 (8.4) and 15.0 (7.1), respectively (P=0.19), and the change in MET-hours per week was 2.1 (7.1) and 4.1(6.1), respectively (P=0.41). There were otherwise no statistically significant differences in participant factors by A1C and PA outcomes. CONCLUSIONS In this small pilot study, Sweetch mHealth intervention achieved comparable A1C response prediabetic adults with different individual, sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics. CLINICALTRIAL ClincialTrials.gov NCT02896010; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02896010 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6xJYxrgse)

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Hazard Identification Training Using 360-Degree Panorama vs. Virtual Reality Techniques: A Pilot Study

Computing in Civil Engineering 2019 ◽

10.1061/9780784482421.008 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

H. Frank Moore ◽

Ricardo Eiris ◽

Masoud Gheisari ◽

Behzad Esmaeili

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Hazard Identification

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Developing a virtual reality for people with dementia in nursing homes based on their psychological needs: a feasibility study

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-021-02125-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jung-Hee Kim ◽

Seonmin Park ◽

Hyeongji Lim

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Nursing Homes ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Psychological Symptoms ◽

Likert Scale ◽

Psychological Needs ◽

Second Phase ◽

People With Dementia ◽

The Mean ◽

Behavioral And Psychological Symptoms

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was (1) to develop a virtual reality (VR) intervention program based on the psychological needs of patients residing in nursing facilities in South Korea to alleviate their behavioral and psychological symptoms and (2) to confirm the possibility of utilizing VR in patients with dementia. Methods In the first phase, patients with dementia residing in nursing homes and experiencing behavioral and psychological symptoms were recruited. Surveys and questionnaires were used to identify activities that alleviated the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) among the patients. These activities were classified into five types of psychological needs. In the second phase, a fully immersive, interactive, easy-to-use VR platform was developed that reflected these psychological needs. Patients with dementia experienced the VR content. The researchers assessed the level of the participants’ immersion, preference, and interaction with the VR using a 5-point Likert scale. Results In the feasibility test, 10 nursing home residents were recruited. The mean immersion score was 4.93 ± 0.16 points, the mean preference score was 4.35 ± 0.41 points, and the mean interaction score was 3.84 ± 0.43 points using a 5-point Likert scale. Higher mean scores indicated a more positive outcome. Six of the 10 participants required assistance while using the VR. The mean VR experience duration was 10.00 ± 3.46 min. Conclusions The VR-based intervention program that was developed to reduce BPSD was feasible for the participants and provided them with a high degree of satisfaction and immersion. Furthermore, this study also confirmed the convenience and safety of the program. These findings support the potential use of VR-based BPSD intervention programs to treat patients with dementia.

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Interactive Virtual Reality Assessment of Aggressive Social Information Processing in Boys with Behavior Problems: A Pilot Study

Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy ◽

10.1002/cpp.2620 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rogier E. J. Verhoef ◽

Anouk van Dijk ◽

Esmée E. Verhulp ◽

Bram O. de Castro

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Information Processing ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Behavior Problems ◽

Social Information Processing ◽

Social Information

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Analysis of motor performance in individuals with cerebral palsy using a non-immersive virtual reality task – a pilot study

Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment ◽

10.2147/ndt.s184510 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol Volume 15 ◽

pp. 417-428 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fabiana Martins ◽

Thaís Massetti ◽

Tania Crocetta ◽

Priscila Bianchi Lopes ◽

Amanda da Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Immersive Virtual Reality

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A Virtual Reality Version of the Trier Social Stress Test: A Pilot Study

Presence Teleoperators & Virtual Environments ◽

10.1162/pres_a_00052 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 325-336 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Mattias Wallergård ◽

Peter Jönsson ◽

Gerd Johansson ◽

Björn Karlson

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Stress Response ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Physiological Data ◽

Virtual Humans ◽

Arithmetic Task

One of the most common methods of inducing stress in the laboratory in order to examine the stress response in healthy and clinical populations is the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Briefly, the participant is asked to deliver a speech and to perform an arithmetic task in front of an evaluating committee. The committee, consisting of three trained actors, does not respond emotionally during the test, which makes the situation very stressful for the participant. One disadvantage of the TSST is that it can be difficult to hold the experimental conditions constant. In particular, it may be difficult for actors to hold their acting constant across all sessions. Furthermore, there are several practical problems and costs associated with hiring professional actors. A computerized version of the TSST using virtual humans could be a way to avoid these problems provided that it is able to induce a stress response similar to the one of the original TSST. The purpose of the present pilot study was therefore to investigate the stress response to a virtual reality (VR) version of the TSST visualized using an immersive VR system (VR-TSST). Seven healthy males with an average age of 24 years (range: 23–26 years) performed the VR-TSST. This included delivering a speech and performing an arithmetic task in front of an evaluating committee consisting of three virtual humans. The VR equipment was a CAVE equipped with stereoscopy and head tracking. ECG and respiration were recorded as well as the participant's behavior and comments. Afterward, a semi-structured interview was carried out. In general, the subjective and physiological data from the experiment indicated that the VR version of the TSST induced a stress response in the seven participants. In particular, the peak increase in heart rate was close to rates observed in studies using the traditional TSST with real actors. These results suggest that virtual humans visualized with an immersive VR system can be used to induce stress under laboratory conditions.

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