The Virtual Reality Relax Tour as relaxation tool in community dwelling dementia care

BACKGROUND Virtual reality (VR) delivered through immersive headsets creates an opportunity to deliver interventions to improve physical, mental, and psychosocial health outcomes. VR app studies with older adults have primarily focused on rehabilitation and physical function including gait, balance, fall prevention, pain management, and cognition. Several systematic reviews have previously been conducted, but much of the extant literature is focused on rehabilitation or other institutional settings, and little is known about the effectiveness of VR apps using immersive headsets to target health outcomes among community-dwelling older adults. OBJECTIVE The objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of VR apps delivered using commercially available immersive headsets to improve physical, mental, or psychosocial health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS Peer-reviewed publications that included community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years residing in residential aged care settings and nursing homes were included. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for systematic reviews of effectiveness evidence. The title of this review was registered with JBI, and the systematic review protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. RESULTS In total, 7 studies that specifically included community-dwelling older adults were included in this review. VR apps using a head-mounted display led to improvements in a number of health outcomes, including pain management, posture, cognitive functioning specifically related to Alzheimer disease, and a decreased risk of falls. A total of 6 studies reported a statistically significant difference post VR intervention, and 1 study reported an improvement in cognitive function to reduce navigational errors. Only one study reported on the usability and acceptability of the interventions delivered through VR. While one study used a distraction mechanism for pain management, none of the studies used gaming technology to promote enjoyment. CONCLUSIONS Interventions to improve health outcomes through VR have demonstrated potential; however, the ability to synthesize findings by primary outcome for the older adult population is not possible. A number of factors, especially related to frailty, usability, and acceptability, also need to be explored before more substantial recommendations on the effectiveness of VR interventions for older adults can be made. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO CRD42019143504; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=143504

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Virtual Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Statewide Implementation of the MIND at Home Dementia Care Program

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.2094 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 549-549

Author(s):

Deirdre Johnston ◽

Jennifer Bourquin ◽

Morgan Spliedt ◽

Inga Antonsdottir ◽

Cody Stringer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Plan ◽

Care Program ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Care Plans ◽

Individualized Care ◽

Memory Care ◽

Collaborative Sessions ◽

Case Based ◽

At Home

Abstract MIND at Home, a well-researched holistic, family-centered dementia care coordination program, provides collaborative support to community-dwelling persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their informal care partners (CP). Through comprehensive home-based assessment of 13 memory-care domains covering PLWD and CPs, individualized care plans are created, implemented, monitored, and revised over the course of the illness. Non-clinical Memory Care Coordinators (MCCs) working with an interdisciplinary team provide education and coaching to PLWD and their identified CP, and serve as a critical liaison and resource and between families, medical professional, and formal and informal community resources. This paper will describe a statewide pilot implementation of the program within a health plan across diverse sites in Texas and will present qualitative and quantitative descriptions of a key component of the program's effective translation to practice, the virtual collaborative case-based learning sessions. Health plan teams completed online interactive training modules and an intensive in-person case-based training with the Johns Hopkins team prior to program launch, and then engaged in weekly, hour-long virtual collaborative sessions that included health plan teams (site-based field teams, health plan clinical supervisory and specialty personnel [RNs, pharmacists, a geriatric psychiatrist, behavioral health specialists] and Johns Hopkins MIND program experts and geriatric psychiatrists. To date, the program has enrolled 350 health plan members, conducted 65 virtual collaborative sessions, and provided 423 CME/CEU units to team members. We will provide an overview of virtual collaborative session structure, participant contributions and discussion topics, case complexity, as well as didactic learning topics covered.

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Caregivers’ Sense of Coherence: Implications on Direct and Indirect Costs of Dementia Care

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-200350 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 78 (1) ◽

pp. 117-126

Author(s):

Oriol Turró-Garriga ◽

Vanesa Viñas-Díez ◽

Josep Lluís Conde-Sala ◽

Laia Calvó-Perxas ◽

Marta Cullell-Juncà ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sense Of Coherence ◽

Regression Models ◽

Social Care ◽

Indirect Costs ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Fixed Cost ◽

Life Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Direct And Indirect Costs

Background: Dementia care is associated with physical, emotional, and monetary impact on the informal carers providing unpaid care. Differences in the personal characteristics of caregivers may help explain the variations in the costs of dementia care. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of caregivers’ sense of coherence (SOC) on direct and indirect costs in dementia care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in community dwelling caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Data of healthcare services were obtained from clinical registries, and information was collected from caregivers regarding their use of social care resources and time spent caregiving. The transformation of all costs into Euros was made assigning a fixed cost of 10.29 € /h and 16.24 € /h for assisting in instrumental and basic activities of daily living, respectively. Caregivers’ SOC was assessed using the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ-13). Adjusted regression models were developed, with different types of costs as dependent variables. Results: A sample of 147 caregivers was recruited. The mean OLQ-13 score was 73.3 points (SD = 11.6). The regression models showed a small association between caregivers’ SOC and direct costs, mainly linked to the use of social care resources (r2 = 0.429; β= –15.6 € /month), and a greater association between SOC and indirect costs (r2 = 0.562; β= –222.3 € /month). Conclusion: Increasing caregivers’ SOC could reduce dementia care costs by decreasing the use of social care resources and caregiving time.

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Virtual Reality Training With Three-Dimensional Video Games Improves Postural Balance and Lower Extremity Strength in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity ◽

10.1123/japa.2015-0271 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 621-627 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yongwoo Lee ◽

Wonjae Choi ◽

Kyeongjin Lee ◽

Changho Song ◽

Seungwon Lee

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Virtual Reality ◽

Lower Extremity ◽

Postural Balance ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Virtual Reality Training ◽

Lower Extremity Strength ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽

Experimental Group

Avatar-based three-dimensional technology is a new approach to improve physical function in older adults. The aim of this study was to use three-dimensional video gaming technology in virtual reality training to improve postural balance and lower extremity strength in a population of community-dwelling older adults. The experimental group participated in the virtual reality training program for 60 min, twice a week, for 6 weeks. Both experimental and control groups were given three times for falls prevention education at the first, third, and fifth weeks. The experimental group showed significant improvements not only in static and dynamic postural balance but also lower extremity strength (p < .05). Furthermore, the experimental group was improved to overall parameters compared with the control group (p < .05). Therefore, three-dimensional video gaming technology might be beneficial for improving postural balance and lower extremity strength in community-dwelling older adults.

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Effect of Virtual Reality-based Cognition Training on the Cognitive Function of the Elderly Adults in the Community who use Dementia Care Center

Society of Occupational Therapy for the Aged and Dementia ◽

10.34263/jsotad.2020.14.2.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Du-Ri Kim ◽

Gwon-Min Kim ◽

Seung Hwan Song ◽

Up Huh ◽

Jae-Hyeok Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Care Center ◽

The Elderly ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Elderly Adults

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The Effects of Virtual Reality-Based Education on Empathy and Understanding of the Physical Environment for Dementia Care Workers in Australia: A Controlled Study

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-210723 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Jennifer Stargatt ◽

Sunil Bhar ◽

Tanya Petrovich ◽

Jahar Bhowmik ◽

David Sykes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Interaction Effects ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Self Report ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Care Workers ◽

Different Ages ◽

English Speaking ◽

Main Effects ◽

Dementia Education

Background: There is support for the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) technology in dementia education. However, it is not yet known if VR is a useful tool for improving empathy and understanding of dementia care environments among dementia care workers. Objective: This study compared learning outcomes of VR versus non-VR (control) workshops for dementia care workers of different ages and English-speaking backgrounds. Methods: Dementia care workers enrolled in workshops on dementia care principles. Once participants were enrolled, workshops were assigned at random to deliver non-VR or VR-based education. Participants (N = 114, 91.8%female, mean age = 46.4; SD = 13.2; n = 60VR condition, 54control condition) completed self-report measures of empathy towards people living with dementia, understanding of dementia care environments, dementia knowledge, and attitudes towards dementia at pre- and post-workshop. Results: Significant pre-post main effects were observed for empathy, understanding of dementia care environments, and attitudes. Interaction effects were not found; improvements in outcomes were similar between conditions. However, interaction effects were observed for subgroups. Empathy improved significantly more in the VR condition for older participants. Understanding of dementia care environments improved more in the VR condition for younger and non-English-speaking background participants. Conclusion: Using VR may not augment teaching outcomes for all learners. VR may differentially assist leaners of different ages and English-speaking backgrounds. More research is needed to understand for which variables and for whom VR is a useful teaching tool.

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