Virtual reality and well-being in older adults: Results from a pilot implementation of virtual reality in long-term care
Open accessAbstract
Introduction: This paper describes the findings of a pilot implementation project that explored the potential of virtual reality (VR) technology in recreational programming to support the well-being of older adults in long-term care (LTC) homes. Methods: 32 Adults in four LTC homes participated in a pilot implementation project where they viewed VR experiences of popular locations in Canada created especially for this project. Data in this paper are based on multiple viewing experiences ( n = 102) over a two-week period. Results: VR appeared to be an effective distraction from pain for the participants. Participants of this study found the VR experiences to be enjoyable and were relaxed and happy while viewing them. Most participants were attentive or focused while viewing the VR experiences, and the experiences were found to be a source of reminiscence for some of the participants. Participants related well to others around them during a majority of the experiences and the VR experiences were a point of conversation between the staff and the participants. Conclusion: The findings from this pilot implementation reveal that VR shows potential to enhance the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social well-being of older adults living in LTC, including those living with cognitive impairment.
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Some residents felt giddy and dizzy while trying VR in the beginning.
“Some residents felt giddy and dizzy (Brimelow et al., 2022; Chaze et al., 2022) while others felt headache, a heavy head feeling or nervousness while trying VR in the beginning.”
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 Chaze et al., 2022
The Results section (‘Physical responses to the virtual reality experiences’; page not provided) reports that one resident felt dizzy when looking straight down during a VR experience. It does not report giddiness or say that the dizziness occurred when residents first tried VR. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredReviewed articles mentioned provision of training for staff in the VR/AR research process.
“There were reviewed articles that mentioned the provision of training for staff in the VR/AR research process (Chaze et al., 2022; C. X. Lin et al., 2018; Thach et al., 2021)”
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 Chaze et al., 2022
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Hung, L., Mann, J., Wallsworth, C., Upreti, M., Kan, W., Temirova, A., Wong, K. L. Y., Ren, H., To-Miles, F., Wong, J., et al. (2023) · Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine · doi:10.1177/23337214231166355 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“Some residents felt giddy and dizzy (Brimelow et al., 2022; Chaze et al., 2022) while others felt headache, a heavy head feeling or nervousness while trying VR in the beginning.”
Background
- Authors
- Chaze, F., Hayden, L., Azevedo, A., Kamath, A., Bucko, D., Kashlan, Y., Dube, M., De Paula, J., Jackson, A., Reyna, C., Warren-Norton, K., Dupuis, K., & Tsotsos, L.
- Affiliations
- Sheridan College (US)
- Sheridan College (CA)
- Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Oakville, ON, Canada
- Corresponding author
- Chaze, Ferzana
- Venue
- Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-02-09
- Volume
- 9
- Pages
- 20556683211072384-20556683211072384
- ISSN
- 2055-6683 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8832624
- OpenAlex
- W4211117631
- Cited by
- 72
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 23.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- 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)
- SOURCE Sheridan's Institutional Repository (Sheridan College) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (520081-17)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Keywords
- virtual reality, older adults, long-term care, well-being, pain distraction, reminiscence, social interaction, cognitive impairment, immersive experience
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