Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr;52(2):121-133.
doi: 10.4040/jkan.22008.

[Effect of Virtual Reality Program for Alleviating Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia Patients]

[Article in Korean]
Seon-Min Park  1 , Seung-Yi Choi  1 , Jung-Hee Kim  2
Affiliations

[Effect of Virtual Reality Program for Alleviating Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia Patients]

[Article in Korean]
Seon-Min Park et al. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the impact of a virtual reality intervention program based on psychological needs on behavioral and psychological symptoms, apathy, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment living in nursing facilities.

Methods: This study is nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design of quasi-experimental study. The study collected data from November 18, 2020 to July 24, 2021 from patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group) at three nursing facilities in G city using self-reporting and caregiver-informant reporting methods. The analysis employed the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, paired t-test, independent t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, Mann-Whitney U, repeated measures ANOVA, GEE, using SPSS/WIN 27.0.

Results: The severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms (Wald χ² = 2.68, p = .102) and the care burden of caregivers (Wald χ² = 1.72, p = .190) were not significant and was no significant time and group interaction effect (Wald χ² = 0.63, p = .426, Wald χ² = 0.52, p =. 471). The difference in apathy and QOL score were statistically significant for the group-time interaction (F = 43.65, p < .001; F = 4.35, p = .041).

Conclusion: The virtual reality intervention program of this study shows a positive effect on the apathy reduction and QOL of patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment residing in nursing facilities.

Keywords: Behavioral Symptoms; Cognitive Dysfunction; Dementia; Virtual Reality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared that no conflict of interest.

References

    1. World Health Organization (WHO). Global status report on the public health response to dementia [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; c2021 [cited 2021 Oct 8]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240033245
    1. National Institute of Dementia. Korean dementia observatory 2020 [Internet]. Seoul: National Institute of Dementia; c2021 [cited 2021 Oct 8]. Available from: https://www.nid.or.kr/info/dataroom_view.aspx?BID=221
    1. Jung DY, Kim HJ, Baek SH, Lee YH, Lee EK, Lee JW, et al. In: Aging and health. 6th ed. Seoul: Hyunmoon; 2020. pp. 1-455.
    1. Selbæk G, Engedal K, Bergh S. The prevalence and course of neuropsychiatric symptoms in nursing home patients with dementia: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association 2013;14(3):161–169.
    1. Scales K, Zimmerman S, Miller SJ. Evidence-based nonpharmacological practices to address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. The Gerontologist 2018;58 suppl 1:S88–S102. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources