CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 107Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchVirtual Reality Applications and ImpactsTechnology Use by Older Adults

Virtual reality to promote wellbeing in persons with dementia: A scoping review

Open access
Appel, Lora, Ali, Suad, Narag, Tanya, Mozeson, Krystyna, Pasat, Zain, Orchanian-Cheff, Ani, Campos, Jennifer L·2021·Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering
DOI 10.1177/20556683211053952PMC PMC8743938
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have increasingly been considered potentially valuable tools in dementia-related research and could serve as non-pharmacological therapy to improve quality of life (QoL) and wellbeing for persons with dementia (PwD). In this scoping review, we summarize peer-reviewed articles published up to Jan-21, 2021, on the use of VR to promote wellbeing in PwD. Eighteen manuscripts (reporting on 19 studies) met the inclusion criteria, with a majority published in the past 2 years. Two reviewers independently coded the articles regarding A) intended clinical outcomes and effectiveness of the interventions, B) study sample (characteristics of the participants), C) intervention administration (by whom, what setting), D) experimental methods (design/instruments), and E) technical properties of the VR-systems (hardware/devices and software/content). Emotional outcomes were by far the most common objectives of the interventions, reported in seventeen (89.5%) of the included articles. Outcomes addressing social engagement and personhood in PwD have not been thoroughly explored using VR. Based on the positive impact of VR, future opportunities lie in identifying special features and customization of the hardware/software to afford the most benefit to different sub-groups of the target population. Overall, this review found that VR represents a promising tool for promoting wellbeing in PwD, with positive or neutral impact reported on emotional, social, and functional aspects of wellbeing.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/20556683211053952

Cites

4 of 4 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Experts with lived experiences can help design and evaluate the intervention.

    “Carroll et al. (2021) and Appel et al. (2021) also suggested that these experts with lived experiences can help design and evaluate the intervention.”

    From Facilitators and Barriers to Using Virtual Reality and its Impact on Social Engagement in Aged Care Settings: A Scoping Review (2023) · cites this paper as Appel et al., 2021

    In Discussion > Experimental methods (page not provided), the review recommends seeking people with dementia’s opinions on VR and feedback from caregivers who know them, supporting their involvement in evaluation. It does not explicitly suggest that these people help design the intervention; its discussion of design concerns feasibility and tailoring, not their participation in the design process. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 54

  1. [1]Parsons TD McPherson S Interrante V. Enhancing neurocognitive assessment using immersive virtual reality. In: 2013 1st Workshop on Virtual and Augmented Assistive Technology (VAAT), Lake Buena Vista, FL, 17–17 March 2013, IEEE, pp. 27– 34.
  2. [2]Matsangidou M Schiza E Hadjiaros M, et al. Dementia: I am physically fading. can virtual reality help? physical training for people with dementia in confined mental health units. In: Antona M Stephanidis C (eds). Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Design Approaches and Supporting Technologies. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2020, pp. 366– 382.
  3. [3]Cavedoni S Chirico A Pedroli E, et al. Digital biomarkers for the early detection of mild cognitive impairment: artificial intelligence meets virtual reality. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14: 245. 32848660 PMC7396670
  4. [4]García-Betances RI Arredondo Waldmeyer MT Fico G, et al. A succinct overview of virtual reality technology use in alzheimer’s disease. Front Aging NeuroSci; 7. Epub Ahead of Print 2015. DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2015.00080. PMC4428215 26029101 · DOI
  5. [5]Gilmartin-Thomas JF-M McNeil J Powell A, et al. Impact of a virtual dementia experience on medical and pharmacy students’ knowledge and attitudes toward people with dementia: a controlled study. J Alzheimers Dis JAD 2018; 62: 867– 876. 29480198
  6. [6]Clay F Howett D FitzGerald J, et al. Use of immersive virtual reality in the assessment and treatment of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review. J Alzheimers Dis 2020; 75: 23– 43. 32280091 PMC7306888
  7. [8]Benoit M Guerchouche R Petit P-D, et al. Is it possible to use highly realistic virtual reality in the elderly? A feasibility study with image-based rendering. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2015; 11: 557– 563. 25834437 PMC4357614
  8. [9]Slater M Lotto B Arnold MM, et al. How we experience immersive virtual environments: the concept of presence and its measurement. Anu Psicol 2009; 40: 19.
  9. [12]Lyu W Wolinsky FD. The onset of ADL difficulties and changes in health-related quality of life. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2017; 15: 217. 29110672 PMC5674843
  10. [13]Allain P Foloppe DA Besnard J, et al. Detecting everyday action deficits in alzheimer’s disease using a nonimmersive virtual reality kitchen. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2014; 20: 468– 477. 24785240
  11. [14]Atkins AS Khan A Ulshen D, et al. Assessment of instrumental activities of daily living in older adults with subjective cognitive decline using the virtual reality functional capacity assessment tool (VRFCAT). J Prev Alzheimers Dis 2018; 5: 216– 234. 30298179
  12. [16]Appel L Appel E Bogler O, et al. Older adults with cognitive and/or physical impairments can benefit from immersive virtual reality experiences: a feasibility study. Front Med; 6. Epub Ahead of Print 2020. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2019.00329. PMC6974513 32010701 · DOI · Paper page
  13. [18]Devshi R Shaw S Elliott-King J, et al. Prevalence of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia in individuals with learning disabilities. Diagnostics 2015; 5: 564– 576. 26854171 PMC4728475
  14. [19]Donaldson C Tarrier N Burns A. The impact of the symptoms of dementia on caregivers. Br J Psychiatry J Ment Sci 1997; 170: 62– 68. 9068778
  15. [21]Bianchetti A Scuratti A Zanetti O, et al. Predictors of mortality and institutionalization in Alzheimer disease patients 1 year after discharge from an Alzheimer dementia unit. Dement Basel Switz 1995; 6: 108– 112. 7606278
  16. [22]Ferreira LDA Ferreira H Cavaco S, et al. User experience of interactive technologies for people with dementia: comparative observational study. JMIR Serious Games 2020; 8: e17565. 32755894 PMC7439148
  17. [23]Appel L Kisonas E Appel E, et al. Introducing virtual reality therapy for inpatients with dementia admitted to an acute care hospital: learnings from a pilot to pave the way to a randomized controlled trial. Pilot Feas Stud 2020; 6: 166. PMC7602317 33292729
  18. [24]Appel L Kisonas E Appel E, et al. Administering virtual reality therapy to manage behavioral and psychological symptoms in patients with dementia admitted to an acute care hospital: results of a pilot study. JMIR Form Res 2021; 5: e22406. 33533720 PMC7889418
  19. [25]D’Cunha NM Nguyen D Naumovski N, et al. A mini-review of virtual reality-based interventions to promote well-being for people living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Gerontology 2019; 65: 430– 440. 31108489
  20. [26]Jao Y-L Loken E MacAndrew M, et al. Association between social interaction and affect in nursing home residents with dementia. Aging Ment Health 2018; 22: 778– 783. 28332405
  21. [27]Woods B O’Philbin L Farrell EM, et al. Reminiscence therapy for dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018; 3: CD001120. 29493789 PMC6494367
  22. [28]Cutler C Hicks B Innes A. Does digital gaming enable healthy aging for community-dwelling people with dementia? Games Cult 2016; 11: 104– 129.
  23. [29]Wilkins JM. Dementia, decision making, and quality of life. AMA J Ethics 2017; 19: 637– 639.
  24. [30]Mendez MF Joshi A Jimenez E. Virtual reality for the assessment of frontotemporal dementia, a feasibility study. Disabil Rehabil Assist Tech 2015; 10: 160– 164. 24524440
  25. [31]Arksey H O’Malley L. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. Int J Soc Res Methodol 2005; 8: 19– 32.
  26. [32]Alm N Astell AJ Gowans G, et al. Engaging multimedia leisure for people with dementia. Gerontech 2009; 8(4): 236– 246. DOI: 10.4017/gt.2009.08.04.006.00. · DOI
  27. [33]Burdea G Polistico K Krishnamoorthy A, et al. Feasibility study of the BrightBrainerTM integrative cognitive rehabilitation system for elderly with dementia. Disabil Rehabil Assist Tech 2015; 10: 421– 432. PMC4942847 24679074
  28. [35]Eisapour M Cao S Boger J. Participatory design and evaluation of virtual reality games to promote engagement in physical activity for people living with dementia. J Rehabil Assist Technol Eng 2020; 7: 2055668320913770. 32499921 PMC7243402
  29. [36]Flynn D van Schaik P Blackman T, et al. Developing a virtual reality-based methodology for people with dementia: a feasibility study. Cyberp Behav Imp Int Multimed Vir Real Behav Soc 2003; 6: 591– 611. 14756925
  30. [37]Foloppe DA Richard P Yamaguchi T, et al. The potential of virtual reality-based training to enhance the functional autonomy of Alzheimer’s disease patients in cooking activities: A single case study. Neuropsychol Rehabil 2018; 28: 709– 733. 26480838
  31. [38]Rohrbach N Gulde P Armstrong AR, et al. An augmented reality approach for ADL support in Alzheimer’s disease: a crossover trial. J Neuro Eng Rehabil 2019; 16: 66. PMC6547460 31159816
  32. [39]Dove E Astell A. The kinect project: group motion-based gaming for people living with dementia. Dement Lond Eng 2019; 18: 2189– 2205. 29192511
  33. [40]Brimelow RE Dawe B Dissanayaka N. Preliminary research: virtual reality in residential aged care to reduce apathy and improve mood. Cyberp Behav Soc Netw 2020; 23: 165– 170. 31829729
  34. [41]Masoumzadeh S Moussavi Z. Does practicing with a virtual reality driving simulator improve spatial cognition in older adults? A Pilot Study. Neurosci Insights 2020; 15: 2633105520967930. PMC8842416 35174332
  35. [43]Rose V Stewart I Jenkins KG, et al. Bringing the outside in: The feasibility of virtual reality with people with dementia in an inpatient psychiatric care setting. Dement Lond Engl 2021; 20: 106– 129. 31510801
  36. [44]Goodall G Ciobanu I Taraldsen K, et al. The use of virtual and immersive technology in creating personalized multisensory spaces for people living with dementia (sense-garden): protocol for a multisite before-after trial. JMIR Res Protoc 2019; 8: e14096. 31538942 PMC6786690
  37. [45]van Santen J Dröes R-M Twisk JWR, et al. Effects of exergaming on cognitive and social functioning of people with dementia: a randomized controlled trial. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2020; 21: 1958– 1967. 32651132
  38. [46]McCauley CO Bond RB Ryan A, et al. Evaluating user engagement with a reminiscence app using cross-comparative analysis of user event logs and qualitative data. Cyberp Behav Soc Netw 2019; 22: 543– 551. 31403855
  39. [48]Molitor RJ Ko PC Ally BA. Eye movements in Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis JAD 2015; 44: 1– 12. 25182738 PMC5332166
  40. [50]Warden V Hurley AC Volicer L. Development and psychometric evaluation of the pain assessment in advanced dementia (PAINAD) scale. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2003; 4: 9– 15. 12807591
  41. [51]Sharar SR Miller W Teeley A, et al. Applications of virtual reality for pain management in burn-injured patients. Expert Rev Neurother 2008; 8: 1667– 1674. 18986237 PMC2634811
  42. [52]Vernooij-Dassen M Moniz-Cook E Jeon Y-H. Social health in dementia care: harnessing an applied research agenda. Int Psychogeriatr 2018; 30: 775– 778. 29970212
  43. [53]Clare L Kudlicka A Oyebode JR, et al. Goal-oriented cognitive rehabilitation for early-stage alzheimer’s and related dementias: the great rct. NIHR Journals Library 2019; 23(10): 1– 242. PMC6441850 30879470
  44. [55]Burns KEA Zubrinich C Tan W, et al. Research recruitment practices and critically ill patients. a multicenter, cross-sectional study (the consent study). Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2013; 187: 1212– 1218. 23525935
  45. [56]Cleaver S Ouellette-Kuntz H Sakar A. Participation in intellectual disability research: a review of 20 years of studies. J Intellect Disabil Res 2010; 54: 187– 193. 20146739
  46. [57]Matej R Tesar A Rusina R. Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative dementias in comorbidity: A clinical and neuropathological overview. Clin Biochem 2019; 73: 26– 31. 31400306
  47. [58]Uhlmann RF Larson EB Koepsell TD. Hearing impairment and cognitive decline in senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. J Am Geriatr Soc 1986; 34: 207– 210. 3950288
  48. [59]Tychsen L Thio LL. Concern of photosensitive seizures evoked by 3D video displays or virtual reality headsets in children: current perspective. Eye Brain 2020; 12: 45– 48. 32104130 PMC7023866
  49. [62]Rose V Stewart I Jenkins KG, et al. A Scoping Review Exploring the Feasibility of Virtual Reality Technology Use with Individuals Living with Dementia. Norrköping, Sweden: The Eurographics Association, 2018. DOI: 10.2312/egve.20181325. · DOI
  50. [63]Alvseike H Brønnick K. Feasibility of the iPad as a hub for smart house technology in the elderly; effects of cognition, self-efficacy, and technology experience. J Multidiscip Healthc 2012; 5: 299– 306. 23226024 PMC3514061
  51. [64]Vallejo V Tarnanas I Yamaguchi T, et al. Usability assessment of natural user interfaces during serious games: adjustments for dementia intervention. J Pain Manag 2016; 9: 333– 339.
  52. [65]Ferreira L Cavaco S Badia SB. A usability study with healthcare professionals of a customizable framework for reminiscence and music based cognitive activities for people with dementia. In: Proceedings of the 23rd Pan-Hellenic Conference on Informatics, Nicosia, Cyprus, 28–30 November 2019, New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery, pp. 16– 23.
  53. [66]Mantovani E Zucchella C Bottiroli S, et al. Telemedicine and virtual reality for cognitive rehabilitation: a roadmap for the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Neurol 2020; 11: 926. 33041963 PMC7522345
  54. [67]Yates L Csipke E Moniz-Cook E, et al. The development of the promoting independence in dementia (PRIDE) intervention to enhance independence in dementia. Clin Interv Aging 2019; 14: 1615– 1630. 31571842 PMC6748161

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Appel, L., Ali, S., Narag, T., Mozeson, K., Pasat, Z., Orchanian-Cheff, A., & Campos, J. L.
Affiliations
  • University Health Network (CA)
  • York University (CA)
  • McMaster University (CA)
  • University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
Corresponding author
Appel, Lora
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2021-01
Volume
8
Pages
20556683211053952-20556683211053952
ISSN
2055-6683 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1177/20556683211053952
PMC
PMC8743938
OpenAlex
W4205881657
Cited by
107
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 9
FWCI
2.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
Keywords
virtual reality, dementia, well-being, quality of life, non-pharmacological treatment, emotional outcomes, social engagement, personhood, intervention effectiveness

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review