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Clinical Trial
. 2022 Sep 12;22(1):744.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03431-7.

The effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality and hands-on horticultural activities on mastery, achievement motives, self-esteem, isolation and depression: a quasi-experimental study

Ching-Chih Fan #  1 , Cheuk-Sing Choy #  1   2 , Chiu-Mieh Huang  3 , Po-Sheng Chih  1 , Chia-Chiang Lee  4 , Fen-He Lin  5 , Jong-Long Guo  6
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

The effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality and hands-on horticultural activities on mastery, achievement motives, self-esteem, isolation and depression: a quasi-experimental study

Ching-Chih Fan et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Aging societies are a public health concern worldwide. It is critical to develop strategies that harness technology to enhance older adults' mastery, achievement motives, self-esteem, isolation and depression effectively.

Methods: This study aimed to explore the effects of a combination of three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) and hands-on horticultural activities on the psychological well-being of community-dwelling older adults. We used a quasi-experimental design. A total of 62 community-dwelling older adults were recruited and assigned to the experimental (n = 32) and comparison groups (n = 30). The members of the experimental group participated in an 8-week intervention program. Participants of both groups completed before-and-after intervention measurements for outcome variables that included perceived self-esteem, depression, isolation, and mastery and achievement motives, which were analyzed using the generalized estimating equation (GEE). A baseline score of depression was used as an adjustment for the GEE analyses to eliminate the effects of depression on outcomes.

Results: After controlling age and gender as confounders, GEE analyses indicated that the experimental group showed significant post-intervention improvements in scores for self-esteem (β = 2.18, P = .005) and mastery (β = 1.23, P = .039), compared to the control group.

Conclusions: This study supported a combination of three-dimensional VR and hands-on horticultural activities on community-dwelling older adults to improve self-esteem and mastery. The findings suggest that the future implementation of a similar program would be feasible and beneficial to community-dwelling older adults.

Trial registration: The study was posted on www.

Clinicaltrials: gov (NCT05087654) on 21/10/2021. It was approved by the Institutional Review Board of En Chu Kong Hospital and performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Keywords: 3D virtual reality; Community-dwelling; Horticultural therapy; Older adults; Psychological well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Enrollment and research process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Changes in the pretests and posttests for 5 outcome variables between experimental and comparison groups. Higher scores indicate greater improvement in self-esteem, mastery, and achievement motives. Lower scores indicate greater reduction in depression and isolation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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