Dementia, Volume 24, Issue 1, Page 71-90, January 2025. Background and ObjectivesVirtual reality (VR) interventions provide immersive, interactive computer-simulated virtual environments. There is interest in their use for people with dementia as they may provide stimulating experiences and improve dementia symptoms and quality of life. However, as more insight is needed about carers’ and clinical professionals’ perspectives to understand how VR may be implemented successfully, we elicited their views on the benefits of, and challenges to, using VR in dementia care.MethodsWe conducted five qualitative focus groups involving 25 healthcare professionals and informal carers with experience of dementia care. Participants received a demonstration of a VR headset and content and were then questioned following a topic guide asking for views on benefits of, and challenges to, using VR for dementia care.FindingsThe main findings addressed the benefits of, and concerns about, the impact and implications of VR on wellbeing, ethics, implementation, caregivers and services. Overall, participants had a positive attitude toward VR and made several suggestions for its future use to enable enjoyable and immersive experiences. Examples included suggestions to personalise VR content to accommodate heterogenous profiles and stages of dementia, co-developing protocols to address health risks and side effects and further investigating shared experiences of VR with caregivers.ConclusionHealthcare professionals and informal carers thought that VR had potential to enhance a holistic and personalised approach to dementia care. They suggested changes which could guide future implementation of VR interventions for dementia patients and their caregivers.
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This post is Copyright: Heema Ajeet Gokani | August 9, 2024
SAGE Publications: Dementia: Table of Contents