Effects of Virtual Reality Dementia Education on College Students' Knowledge and Attitudes

January 17, 2026 updated by: Asia University

A Randomized Two-Group Pretest-Posttest Study of Virtual Reality-Based Dementia Education Among College Students

Dementia is a growing public health concern, and improving knowledge and attitudes toward dementia is important for reducing stigma and promoting supportive care. Virtual reality (VR) has been increasingly used as an educational tool because it can provide immersive and engaging learning experiences.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of different types of virtual reality-based dementia education on college students' knowledge of dementia and their attitudes toward people living with dementia. College students were randomly assigned to one of two educational approaches: a VR-360 experience based on real-life scenarios or a computer-generated VR (CG-VR) learning environment.

Participants completed questionnaires assessing dementia-related knowledge and attitudes before and after the educational intervention. By comparing changes between the two groups, this study aims to determine whether different VR formats lead to different learning outcomes. The findings of this study may help inform the design of future dementia education programs using immersive technologies.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study adopted a two-group randomized pretest-posttest design to evaluate the effectiveness of different virtual reality-based dementia education approaches. Participants were recruited from a university in central Taiwan and were randomly assigned to either a VR-360 group or a computer-generated VR (CG-VR) group using computer-generated random codes.

Both interventions were designed to introduce key concepts related to dementia, including common warning signs, prevention strategies, and communication considerations when interacting with people living with dementia. The VR-360 intervention used immersive real-life video scenarios, whereas the CG-VR intervention used a virtual learning environment with interactive instructional content.

Dementia-related knowledge and attitudes were assessed using standardized questionnaires before and after the intervention. Changes in outcomes were compared between groups to evaluate the differential effects of the two VR formats. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

129

Phase

  • 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

  • Taiwan
      • Taichung, Taiwan
        • University in Central Taiwan

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals aged 20 years and older.
  • College students who are able to participate in virtual reality-based teaching activities and complete questionnaire assessments.
  • Willingness to participate and provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with visual or auditory impairments that may interfere with virtual reality use.
  • Individuals with abnormalities of the head or face that prevent wearing virtual reality equipment.
  • Individuals who are unable to adapt to virtual reality devices (e.g., experiencing severe motion sickness).

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: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: VR-360 Group
Participants in this arm received a virtual reality 360-degree (VR-360) dementia education intervention based on immersive real-life video scenarios designed to improve dementia-related knowledge and attitudes.
Other: VR-360 Dementia Education
An immersive virtual reality 360-degree educational program designed to improve dementia-related knowledge and attitudes through real-life video scenarios.
Experimental: CG-VR Group
Participants in this arm received a computer-generated virtual reality (CG-VR) dementia education intervention delivered through an interactive virtual learning environment to enhance dementia-related knowledge and attitudes.
Other: CG VR Dementia Education
A computer-generated virtual reality educational program designed to enhance dementia-related knowledge and attitudes using an interactive virtual learning environment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Attitudes Toward Dementia
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Attitudes toward dementia were measured using a self-administered questionnaire before and after the intervention.
Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Dementia Knowledge
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Dementia-related knowledge was assessed using a structured questionnaire before and after the virtual reality-based educational intervention.
Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Asia 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)

June 11, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 14, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

February 14, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 26, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 17, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REC113-09

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

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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