3D VR and Hands-on Horticultural Activities Effects

The Effects of a Combination of 3D Virtual Reality and Hands-on Horticultural Activities on Community-dwelling Older Adults' Mental Health: A Quasi-Experimental Study

This study aimed to explore the effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality (VR) and hands-on horticultural activities on the mental health of community-dwelling older adults.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Virtual Reality; Horticultural Therapy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Combination of 3D VR and Hands-on Horticultural Activities

Detailed Description

Aging societies are of public health concern worldwide. It is critical to develop strategies that harness technology to enhance older adults' mental health. This study aimed to explore the effects of a combination of three-dimensional virtual reality (3D VR) and hands-on horticultural activities on the mental health of community-dwelling older adults. Used a quasi-experimental design. A total of 62 community-dwelling older adults were recruited. 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, mastery and achievement motives, which were analyzed using the generalized estimating equation (GEE). This study found beneficial effects of a combination of 3D VR and hands-on horticultural activities on community-dwelling older adults' mental health.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 62
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taipei, Taiwan, 106
    • National Taiwan Normal University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: ADULT; OLDER_ADULT; CHILD
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Intact cognition, possessing the ability to understand verbal meaning and the ability to operate a VR joystick independently.

Exclusion Criteria:

A history of hand dysfunction, severe visual and hearing impairment, being allergic to plants or pollen, and a current illness such as epilepsy or stroke.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: OTHER
• Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Experimental group; Received the Combination of 3D VR and Hands-on Horticultural Activities.	Other: Combination of 3D VR and Hands-on Horticultural Activities; The intervention program consisted of 8 two-hour sessions that were conducted once a week for 8 consecutive weeks.
NO_INTERVENTION: Comparison group; Received scheduled activities, such as physical fitness, paper cutting, etc., without any gardening activities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-esteem	Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale consists of 14 items and each item is scored on a Likert-type scale that ranges from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree), with higher scores indicating a higher level of self-esteem.	about three months
Depression	The Chinese version of the Geriatric Depression Scale was used, which has a total of 15 items. All items were answered as either yes (1) or no (0). The total raw scores ranged from 0 to 15, with a higher score indicating a higher level of depression.	about three months
Perceived isolation	A short-form scale of perceived isolation was used to measure isolation. Each item was scored on a Likert-type scale from 1 (never) to 4 (often), with higher scores indicating a higher level of perceived isolation.	about three months
Perceived mastery	The Chinese version of the Perceived Mastery Scale with a total of 7 items was used. Each item was scored on a Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree). The total raw score ranged from 7 to 28, with a higher score indicating a higher level of perceived mastery.	about three months
Achievement motives	The Achievement Motives Scale (AMS) consists of two kinds of motives, referred to as Motive to Achieve Success, (MAS) and Motive to Avoid Failure (MAF). A short-form scale with 10 items was used to measure achievement motives, with 5 items each for MAS and MAF. Each item was scored on a Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree).	about three months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taiwan Normal University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): June 15, 2020
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): October 27, 2020
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): December 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 8, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 8, 2021
• First Posted (ACTUAL): October 21, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): October 21, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 8, 2021
• Last Verified: October 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: older adults; mental health; community-dwelling; horticultural therapy; 3D virtual reality
• Other Study ID Numbers: ECKIRB1090503

Drug and device information, study documents

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