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Cited by 71Virtual Reality Applications and ImpactsTechnology Use by Older AdultsGeriatric Care and Nursing Homes

Virtual tourism for older adults living in residential care: A mixed-methods study

Open access
Fiocco, Alexandra J., Millett, Geneva, D’Amico, Danielle, Krieger, Laura, Sivashankar, Yadurshana, Lee, Seung Hwan, Lachman, Richard·2021·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0250761PMC PMC8136674

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Abstract

Due to financial and mobility barriers, a majority of older adults living in collective dwellings are no longer able to engage in tourism, a leisure activity that contributes to quality of life and wellbeing. Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) may serve as a programmatic tool to facilitate tourism. This pilot study examined the effects of VR tourism exposure on indices of psychosocial wellbeing among older adults living in residential care. Using a mixed-methods study design, 18 older adults were exposed to VR tourism three times a week, over six weeks. Participants reported decreased anxiety and fatigue immediately following exposure, and increased social engagement and quality of life following six weeks of VR tourism. Qualitative data offered additional insight on the process by which VR tourism may enhance wellbeing. Findings suggest that immersive VR tourism may be a viable program for older adults in residential care.

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  • Some residents remarked on poor video quality such as blurred scenery; other residents found the looping of videos boring.

    “Some residents remarked on poor video quality such as blurred scenery; other residents found the looping of videos boring (Fiocco 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 Fiocco et al., 2021

    The Results > Qualitative findings section reports that residents wanted clearer images, supporting the concern about poor video quality. It also says some videos were too short, but does not report that videos looped or that residents found looping boring. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Stable internet connection and acquisition of VR/AR equipment with better video quality are suggested for better user experiences.

    “A stable internet connection (Thach et al., 2021), and the acquisition of VR/AR equipment with better video quality are suggested for better user experiences (Fiocco 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 Fiocco et al., 2021

    The Discussion (page not provided) reports participants’ calls to improve the quality and clarity of VR videos and the immersive apparatus. It does not recommend acquiring new VR/AR equipment to achieve better video quality. The stable-internet recommendation is cited to Thach et al., not Fiocco et al., and is not judged here. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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  • Immediately after 6 weeks of VR tourism, the participants reported decreased anxiety and fatigue.

    “Immediately after 6 weeks of VR tourism, the participants reported decreased anxiety and fatigue (Fiocco 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 Fiocco et al., 2021

    The Results (Momentary affect and cybersickness, Table 2) show lower self-reported anxiousness and fatigue immediately after VR exposure. The Measures and Procedure sections specify that these were pre- and post-session measurements collected throughout the six-week program, not changes measured immediately after the program ended. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • Culturally appropriate music can improve the VR/AR experiences of older adults.

    “Fiocco et al. (2021) further suggested a way to improve the VR/AR experiences of older adults by having culturally appropriate music.”

    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 Fiocco et al., 2021

    The Discussion identifies culturally appropriate music aligned with the travel destination as a way to improve VR tourism content for older adults in residential care. The Results > Qualitative findings report that participants found incongruent music detracted from the experience. The paper addresses VR, not AR, so the AR portion of the claim is not supported by this source. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [23]Papagiannakis G, Magnenat-Thalmann N. Virtual worlds and augmented reality in cultural heritage applications. In: Baltsavias, et al. editors. Proc. Recording, Modeling and Visualization of Cultural Heritage. Taylor and Francis Group, Abington; 2006. pp. 419– 430.

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Authors
Fiocco, A. J., Millett, G., D’Amico, D., Krieger, L., Sivashankar, Y., Lee, S. H., & Lachman, R.
Affiliations
Toronto Metropolitan University (CA)
Corresponding author
Fiocco, Alexandra J.
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2021-05-20
Volume
16
Issue
5
Pages
e0250761
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0250761
PMC
PMC8136674
OpenAlex
W3163433076
Cited by
67
References
35
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 2
FWCI
5.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Ryerson University
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes
Keywords
virtual tourism, immersive virtual reality, older adults, residential care, psychosocial well-being, quality of life, anxiety, fatigue, social engagement, leisure, mobility barriers
MeSH terms
Virtual Reality, Tourism, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety, Fatigue, Female, Humans, Male, Pilot Projects, Quality of Life, Residential Facilities

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