Clinical trial NCT03784053: Virtual Reality and Occupational Performance, Satisfaction, and Quality of Life of Older Adults
Official title: The Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality on Perceived Occupational Performance, Perceived Occupational Satisfaction, and Quality of Life of Older Adults
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Conditions: Aging
Keywords: Older adults
Virtual reality
Quality of life
Occupation
Lead sponsor: University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2018-12-21
Enrollment: 60
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 55
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
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.

Brief summary: 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.

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.

Eligibility criteria: 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.

Primary outcomes:
measure: The Canadian Occupational Therapy Performance Measure (COPM)
timeFrame: 10 minutes
Secondary outcomes:
measure: World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF (WHOQOL-BREF)
timeFrame: 10 minutes
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: Journey's Way
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: University of the Sciences
name: Sara Benham, OTD, OTR/L
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Law, M., Baptiste, S., Carswell, A., McColl, M., Polatajko, H., & Pollock, N. (2005). Canadian occupational performance measure (4th ed.). Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.
citation: 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.
citation: 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.