Virtual Reality and Occupational Performance, Satisfaction, and Quality of Life of Older Adults

The Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality on Perceived Occupational Performance, Perceived Occupational Satisfaction, and Quality of Life of Older Adults

Older adult participants will complete eight immersive virtual reality (VR) sessions with the researcher, within five weeks (no more than two sessions per week may be scheduled). The screening process and assessment measures are not included in the five weeks of virtual reality. Sessions will consist of 30 minutes of use of the virtual reality goggles. During the virtual reality sessions, participants will select from a list of Oculus Go apps related to their self-identified occupational performance issues. Participants are expected to complete the session while seated with the VR set secured on their head.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Aging
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Immersive virtual reality

Detailed Description

Virtual reality (VR) may promote engagement in meaningful daily activities that is tailored to the individual's skill level, need, and significance to their individual context. There is limited research on measurable changes in perceived meaningful daily activities after utilizing immersive VR, specifically with a head mounted display. Only in recent years have head-mounted displays become less expensive and more commercially available for research and patron purchase. At the low cost of $250, the device is within the reach of many older adult community centers for leisure and recreational use. The researchers will measure changes in occupational performance, occupational satisfaction, and quality of life for the older adult members of a community center, after eight immersive VR sessions. Sessions will consist of 30 minutes of use of the virtual reality goggles. During the virtual reality sessions, participants will select from a list of Oculus Go apps related to their self-identified occupational performance issues. Participants are expected to complete the session while seated with the VR set secured on their head.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 60

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Sara Benham, OTD, OTR/L; Phone Number: 317-979-4461; Email: s.benham@usciences.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19128
      • Recruiting
      • Journey's Way
      • Contact: Sara Benham, OTD, OTR/L; Phone Number: 317-979-4461; Email: s.benham@usciences.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 55 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The aim is to recruit community-dwelling, healthy older adults from one community center. Subjects will be excluded if they receive a score of 17 or less on the MoCA because this score is associated with individuals with Alzheimer's Disease (Trzepacz, Hochstetler, Wang, Walker, & Saykin, 2015). The second exclusion, for safety purposes, is recommended by the Oculus Go user manual.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Older adults aged 55+ that attend Journey's Way
2. Members need to attend least twice a week

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Score of 17 or less on the MoCA
2. A self-report a history of any of the following: Seizures, epilepsy, dizziness, vertigo, or motion sickness, any current contagious skin and eye conditions, experience sensitivity to light, have or use hearing aids, and a pacemaker and/or a defibrillator.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Immersive virtual reality; Participants will receive eight 30-minute sessions of immersive virtual reality.	Other: Immersive virtual reality; At the start of every session, the participants' top five occupational problems will be reviewed, and a list of apps corresponding to the desired occupational problem will be offered through the immersive virtual reality device (Oculus Go). There will be eight 30-minute virtual reality sessions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The Canadian Occupational Therapy Performance Measure (COPM)	The COPM is a standardized outcome measure that identifies an individual's perceived occupational performance and occupational satisfaction and detects change in these areas over time. Through a semi-structured interview, individuals will identify their difficulties with self-care, leisure, and productivity (Law et al., 2005). The client is asked to rate the importance of each of the occupations to his/her life using a 10-point rating scale (1 to 10). Then, the client will rate the performance and satisfaction of the occupations on a 10-point rating scale (1 to 10). Then, the average performance satisfaction is calculated (1 to 10) and the average satisfaction is calculated (1 to 10). Higher scores indicate better outcomes.	10 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF (WHOQOL-BREF)	The WHOQOL-BREF is an assessment used to measure an individual's perceived quality of life. It has 26 items across the following four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. Items are scored on a scale of 1 to 5 (a higher score is a more favorable outcome). Raw scores are calculated of each domain, and then scores may be transformed to scores ranging from 4 to 20 within each domain.	10 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sara Benham, OTD, OTR/L, University of the Sciences

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. The WHOQOL Group. Psychol Med. 1998 May;28(3):551-8. doi: 10.1017/s0033291798006667.
• Trzepacz PT, Hochstetler H, Wang S, Walker B, Saykin AJ; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Relationship between the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Mini-mental State Examination for assessment of mild cognitive impairment in older adults. BMC Geriatr. 2015 Sep 7;15:107. doi: 10.1186/s12877-015-0103-3.
• McColl MA, Law M, Baptiste S, Pollock N, Carswell A, Polatajko HJ. Targeted applications of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. Can J Occup Ther. 2005 Dec;72(5):298-300. doi: 10.1177/000841740507200506.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): January 21, 2019
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): August 31, 2019
• Study Completion (Anticipated): January 14, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 19, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): December 21, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 16, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 15, 2019
• Last Verified: January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Quality of life; Older adults; Virtual reality; Occupation
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1341686

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No