Effects of a Reminiscence Therapy Program on Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Quality of Life in People With Dementia: A Pilot Study Comparing Immersive Virtual Reality and Non-immersive Approaches

Abstract

This study compared the impact of an immersive virtual reality (VR)-based reminiscence therapy program with a similar non-immersive intervention on neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life of people with dementia. A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted with 14 individuals with mild to moderately severe dementia, who participated in eight biweekly individual reminiscence sessions conducted by trained researchers, in which 360° videos of locations with personal relevance were displayed. Participants were randomly divided in two groups: one receiving therapy using VR headsets to promote an immersive experience while the other watched the videos on a monitor (non-immersive approach). Assessment was conducted pre- and post-intervention using the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease Scale to measure quality of life and the Geriatric Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and Neuropsychiatric Inventory to evaluate neuropsychiatric symptoms. Adverse simulation-related symptoms were also assessed with the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire. There were no statistically significant differences between groups at baseline, regarding sociodemographic variables and level of dementia progression. The results indicated significant improvements post-intervention in quality of life from caregivers' perspectives in the non-immersive group (p < .05) but not in the VR group. Differences in overall neuropsychiatric symptoms, depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms between assessments were non-significant. However, slight improvements were visible, particularly regarding anxiety. Only a few instances of mild cybersickness symptoms were reported in both groups. In this study, pre- and post-intervention comparisons do not support the added value of using immersive VR in reminiscence therapy for people living with dementia. This raises questions about whether VR is worthwhile compared to traditional approaches, and how to better capture potential benefits of immersion with VR, which may be more evident considering in-session engagement and well-being or longer intervention programs.

Keywords: behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; dementia; quality of life; reminiscence therapy; virtual reality.