Virtual Reality Program in Long Term Care: An Innovative Way To Promote Social Engagement

The Project:

With over 500,000 people living with dementia in Canada, this disease has a significant impact on residents living in long-term care (LTC) settings. Many residents experience anxiety, social isolation, and loneliness, and these experiences are further exacerbated by confinement and restrictions on family visitations due to COVID-19. Virtual Reality (VR) may be a promising intervention to improve mood and decrease agitation among residents for a better quality of life and provide much-needed respite for caregivers. In addition, VR can be an innovative way to promote social engagement.

The aim of this study is to:

Implement VR in LTC settings and explore the thoughts, preferences, and needs of using AR/VR among residents and their families, and staff members.
Provide a better understanding of the experiences and attitudes of using VR among residents, families, and staff.
Identify any lessons learned in adopting AR/VR in LTC settings which will be useful for future research.