Customized virtual reality naturalistic scenarios promoting engagement and relaxation in patients with cognitive impairment: a proof-of-concept mixed-methods study

Customized virtual reality naturalistic scenarios promoting engagement and relaxation in patients with cognitive impairment: a proof-of-concept mixed-methods study

Being immersed in a natural context has a beneficial and pervasive impact on well-being. Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that can help expose people to naturalistic scenarios virtually, overcoming obstacles that prevent them from visiting real natural environments. VR could also increase engage...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 20516
Main Authors: Pardini, Susanna, Gabrielli, Silvia, Gios, Lorenzo, Dianti, Marco, Mayora-Ibarra, Oscar, Appel, Lora, Olivetto, Silvia, Torres, Alina, Rigatti, Patty, Trentini, Emanuela, Leonardelli, Lucia, Bernardi, Michela, Lucianer, Marzia, Forti, Stefano, Novara, Caterina
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 22-11-2023
Nature Publishing Group
Nature Portfolio
Subjects:
631/477/2811
692/700/565
692/700/784
Aged
Cognitive ability
Cognitive Dysfunction
Computer applications
Emotions
Health Personnel
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Long-Term Care
multidisciplinary
Natural environment
Older people
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
United States
Virtual Reality
United States
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Summary:Being immersed in a natural context has a beneficial and pervasive impact on well-being. Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that can help expose people to naturalistic scenarios virtually, overcoming obstacles that prevent them from visiting real natural environments. VR could also increase engagement and relaxation in older adults with and without cognitive impairment. The main aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of a customized naturalistic VR scenario by assessing motion-sickness effects, engagement, pleasantness, and emotions felt. Twenty-three individuals with a diagnosis of cognitive impairment living in a long-term care home participated in our study. At the end of the entire VR experimental procedure with older adults, five health staff operators took part in a dedicated assessment phase focused on evaluating the VR procedure's usability from their individual perspectives. The tools administered were based on self-reported and observational tools used to obtain information from users and health care staff professionals. Feasibility and acceptance proved to be satisfactory, considering that the VR experience was well-tolerated and no adverse side effects were reported. One of the major advantages emerged was the opportunity to deploy customized environments that users are not able to experience in a real context. Trial Registration : National Institute of Health (NIH) U.S. National Library of Medicine, ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05863065 (17/05/2023).
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ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-47876-1