Assessing the Feasibility of Using Virtual Reality Experiences in Older Adults

May 12, 2026 updated by: VJ Periyakoil, Stanford University
To assess the feasibility of using computer-generated VR (CG-VR) and film-based VR (FB-VR) in seriously ill older adults

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Background and Significance

Seriously ill older adults frequently harbor unfulfilled end-of-life aspirations, commonly referred to as "bucket list" experiences. Advanced illness, functional decline, and the constraints of institutional living typically render travel and other real world experiences largely unattainable for this population. Virtual reality (VR) technology, now widely commercially available, may offer an accessible means of delivering immersive surrogate experiences at the bedside. However, the feasibility of VR engagement among seriously ill nursing home residents - including their capacity to tolerate head-mounted display use, sustain attention during immersion, and derive meaningful benefit - has not been adequately established. The present study seeks to address this gap.

Specific Aims:

  1. To determine the feasibility of administering immersive VR experiences to seriously ill older adult nursing home residents using a commercially available head-mounted display.
  2. To compare participant ability to tolerate two distinct VR delivery modalities: computer-generated virtual reality (CG-VR) and film-based virtual reality (FB-VR).
  3. To explore, through qualitative inquiry, participant perceptions of VR as a vehicle for fulfilling personally meaningful experiences (virtual bucket-listing).

Study Design

This is a feasibility study employing a randomized, two-arm parallel-group design with an optional crossover component and embedded qualitative interviews.

Study Population: Seriously ill older adult residents of the participating nursing home facility.

Study Procedures

Following written informed consent, each participant will be invited to articulate a personal bucket list. Participants who identify one or more bucket list items will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to one of two arms:

  • Arm A: A three-minute immersive waterfall experience delivered via CG-VR.
  • Arm B: A three-minute immersive waterfall experience delivered via FB-VR. All VR content will be delivered using the Meta Quest Pro head-mounted display. Following the initial experience, participants will be offered the option to engage in a second VR session - either the alternate modality (CG-VR or FB-VR) or an alternative VR environment of personal significance to the participant.

Outcome Measures:

Primary outcomes (feasibility): Consent, completion of the assigned VR experience, and adverse events (including cybersickness, agitation, or discomfort).

Secondary outcomes:

  • Change in symptom burden as measured by pre- and post-experience scores on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System-Revised (ESAS-r).
  • Participant-reported relaxation ratings obtained immediately following the VR experience.
  • Qualitative data derived from post-experience semi-structured interviews for thematic analysis.

Risks and Anticipated Benefits:

Risks are anticipated to be minimal and primarily limited to transient cybersickness, mild disorientation, or emotional response to the experiential content. Participants may benefit from symptom relief, relaxation, and engagement with personally meaningful imagery, although direct benefit is not assured. Findings will inform the design of subsequent efficacy trials evaluating VR as a palliative intervention.

Statistical Considerations:

Given that this is a feasibility pilot study, there is no hypothesis testing and the study is not powered to detect efficacy.Descriptive statistics will be employed to characterize feasibility metrics and outcome distributions.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
52

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
        • Stanford University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria: Seriously ill nursing home residents identified by their care team as able to participate.

-

Exclusion Criteria: <65 years of age

-

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Computer-generated VR waterfalls
This is a computer-generated VR waterfalls
Other: Feasibility of using VR
Commercially available Meta Quest Pro was used to show a waterfalls virtually to the participants in one of two renderings-- computer generated waterfalls or a film-based waterfalls. Both types of renderings are viewed by the exact same equipment and headset.
Active Comparator: Film-based VR waterfalls
This is a film-based VR waterfalls
Other: Feasibility of using VR
Commercially available Meta Quest Pro was used to show a waterfalls virtually to the participants in one of two renderings-- computer generated waterfalls or a film-based waterfalls. Both types of renderings are viewed by the exact same equipment and headset.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESASr)
Time Frame: Baseline
ESAS-r assessed nine common symptoms (Pain, Fatigue, Nausea, Depression, Anxiety, Drowsiness, Shortness of Breath, Appetite, and Wellbeing) on 0-10 scales. (cite) A sleep item was also included.
Baseline
Relaxation scale
Time Frame: Immediately before and after the 3-minute VR exposure.
Relaxation was assessed with a single item (0 = not relaxed at all; 10 = extremely relaxed)
Immediately before and after the 3-minute VR exposure.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Stanford University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 1, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 12, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 67522

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Will not be available as participants are vulnerable and did not wish to share.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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