Cognitive Stimulation Program With Virtual Reality for Older Adults With Depressive Symptoms

July 13, 2026 updated by: Sofia Borges de Sousa, Grupo Lusófona

Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Cognitive Stimulation Program With Virtual Reality: Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy in Older Adults With Depressive Symptoms

The aim of this pilot RCT is the development, implementation, and evaluation of a cognitive stimulation program with virtual reality for individuals aged 65 or older who have depressive symptoms and attend Portuguese day centers. The program aims to promote their cognitive functioning, well-being and functionality, and to reduce their depressive symptoms. A pilot study of the program will be conducted to assess its feasibility and preliminary efficacy.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals aged 65 years or older attending Portuguese day care centers;
  • Presence of mild, moderate, or severe depressive symptomatology;
  • Language skills and visual acuity.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals presenting illiteracy and/or medical diagnosis of neurocognitive disorder or significant cognitive deficits (Mini-Mental State Examination)

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cognitive stimulation + VR
Participants receive a cognitive stimulation program with virtual reality.
Behavioral: Cognitive stimulation program
Twelve group sessions of a cognitive stimulation program with virtual reality.
No Intervention: Wait-list Control
Participants assigned to the waitlist control condition remain on the waitlist throughout the study and are offered the intervention upon completion of the post-intervention assessment phase.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adherence
Time Frame: Throughout the intervention period (6 weeks)
The proportion of participants who complete all intervention sessions. Adherence will be considered achieved if at least 70% of participants complete all scheduled sessions.
Throughout the intervention period (6 weeks)
Acceptability and Feasibility
Time Frame: Post-intervention (at week 7)
Acceptability and feasibility will be assessed through Theoretical Framework of Acceptability Questionnaire (TFA). All items are assessed on a 5-point Likert scale, with scores ranging from 1 to 5. Scores range from 7 to 35, with higher scores indicating better acceptability and feasibility.
Post-intervention (at week 7)
Acceptability and perceived barriers (semi-strutured interviews)
Time Frame: Post-intervention (at week 7)
Acceptability of the intervention will be assessed through semi-structured interviews conducted with each participant after the intervention. The interviews will explore participants' overall evaluation of the program, including its perceived relevance, satisfaction with the intervention, and willingness to continue or recommend it. Perceived barriers to implementation will also be explored by asking participants to describe any difficulties or challenges they experienced during their participation.
Post-intervention (at week 7)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in depressive symptoms will be assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), a 15-item questionnaire with yes/no responses, with total scores ranging from 0 to 15, where higher scores indicate greater depressive symptomatology.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Well-being
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in well-being will be assessed using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). The scale consists of 14 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always), with total scores ranging from 14 to 70. Higher scores indicate greater levels of well-being.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Functionality
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in functional ability will be assessed using the Lawton and Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) Scale. The scale consists of 8 items and total score ranges from 8 to 30 points, with 8 indicating independence, scores between 9 and 20 indicating moderate dependence and scores above 20 indicating severe dependence.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Global cognitive functioning
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in cognitive functioning will be assessed using the total score of the Neuropsychological Assessment Questionnaire that assesses multiple cognitive functions. The total score ranges from 0 to 112 points, with higher total scores indicating better cognitive performance.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Visual attention and processing speed
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in visual attention and processing speed will be assessed using the Trail Making Test Part A (TMT-A). Performance is measured by the time required to complete the test, with longer completion times indicating poorer visual attention and processing speed.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Executive functioning and cognitive flexibility
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in executive functioning and cognitive flexibility will be assessed using the Trail Making Test Part B (TMT-B). Performance is measured by the time required to complete the test, with longer completion times indicating poorer executive functioning and cognitive flexibility.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Frontal executive functioning
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in executive functioning will be assessed using Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), a brief screening tool composed of 6 subtests. Total scores range from 0 to 18, with higher scores indicating better executive functioning.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Attention and immediate verbal memory
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in attention and immediate verbal memory will be assessed using the Digit Span Forward subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III). Performance is measured by the number of correctly recalled digit sequences, with higher scores indicating better attention and immediate verbal memory.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Working memory
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)
Changes in working memory will be assessed using the Digit Span Backward subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III). Performance is measured by the number of correctly recalled digit sequences in reverse order, with higher scores indicating better working memory performance.
Baseline, post-intervention (at week 7) and follow-up (3 months)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Grupo Lusófona

Collaborators

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

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 (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 18, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 13, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 13, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2023.03520.BDANA

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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