Implementation of a Virtual Reality recreation program in long-term care.

Introduction: This manuscript describes the implementation of a Virtual Reality (VR) recreation program at long-term care sites across Ontario, Canada, using the RE-AIM Framework to guide the implementation and its evaluation. Methods: We developed a VR recreation program to enhance the lives of long-term care residents, through 3 sequential phases. In Phase 1, we learned about resident and staff needs through focus groups, staff surveys and observations. In Phase 2, we developed 10 VR experiences, based on the data from Phase 1. In Phase 3, we implemented the VR experiences and supporting manual and measured their implementation, using the RE-AIM Framework. Results: We found the VR program to be highly (but not consistently) implementable across all sites. Factors that supported implementation were the following: resident interest in the content and technology, relative ease of use for staff to implement and formally integrating VR into the recreation calendar. Factors that impeded implementation were the following: the size of the headset, inability for the headset to cast given the sites' Information Technology infrastructure and some content that was not engaging. Conclusions: VR programs are highly implementable and this implementation is enhanced by integration of the program into existing recreational systems, ease of use and resident engagement.

Virtual reality and well-being in older adults: Results from a pilot implementation of virtual reality in long-term care.

INTRODUCTION: This paper describes the findings of a pilot implementation project that explored the potential of virtual reality (VR) technology in recreational programming to support the well-being of older adults in long-term care (LTC) homes. METHODS: 32 Adults in four LTC homes participated in a pilot implementation project where they viewed VR experiences of popular locations in Canada created especially for this project. Data in this paper are based on multiple viewing experiences (n = 102) over a two-week period. RESULTS: VR appeared to be an effective distraction from pain for the participants. Participants of this study found the VR experiences to be enjoyable and were relaxed and happy while viewing them. Most participants were attentive or focused while viewing the VR experiences, and the experiences were found to be a source of reminiscence for some of the participants. Participants related well to others around them during a majority of the experiences and the VR experiences were a point of conversation between the staff and the participants. CONCLUSION: The findings from this pilot implementation reveal that VR shows potential to enhance the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social well-being of older adults living in LTC, including those living with cognitive impairment.

Accessible Virtual Arts Recreation for Wellbeing Promotion in Long-Term Care Residents.

The efficacy of a technology-driven visual arts recreation activity, delivered virtually, was evaluated for its potential to achieve positive impacts, similar to traditional arts-interventions, on wellbeing in long-term care residents. Thirty-one residents (average age 86.8 years; SD = 9.4) engaged with the arts-intervention for 30-minutes, twice weekly, for 6 weeks with either a partner or as part of a group. Wellbeing indicators included self-reported psychological and health-related wellness, and attention capacity. Binomial tests of postintervention change revealed a significant above-chance probability of improvement in one or more wellbeing indicators (p < .05). Postparticipation feedback survey scores were positive (p < .05). Cognitive status did not influence outcome; however, other participant characteristics such as younger age, higher openness-to-experience (personality trait), and lower baseline mood were significantly associated with positive response to the intervention (p < .05). Findings demonstrate technology may be an effective platform for promoting accessibility to beneficial arts-interventions for older adults.

Visual memory capacity in transsaccadic integration.

How we perceive the visual world as stable and unified suggests the existence of transsaccadic integration that retains and integrates visual information from one eye fixation to another eye fixation across saccadic eye movements. However, the capacity of transsaccadic integration is still a subject of controversy. We tested our subjects' memory capacity of two basic visual features, i.e. luminance (Experiment 1) and orientation (Experiment 2), both within a single fixation (i.e. visual working memory) and between separate fixations (i.e. transsaccadic memory). Experiment 2 was repeated, but attention allocation was manipulated using attentional cues at either the target or distracter (Experiment 3). Subjects were able to retain 3-4 objects in transsaccadic memory for luminance and orientation; errors generally increased as saccade size increased; and, subjects were more accurate when attention was allocated to the same location as the impending target. These results were modelled by inputting a noisy extra-retinal signal into an eye-centered feature map. Our results suggest that transsaccadic memory has a similar capacity for storing simple visual features as basic visual memory, but this capacity is dependent both on the metrics of the saccade and allocation of attention.