Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Stimulation on People with Mild to Moderate Dementia due to Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Jorge Oliveira, Pedro Gamito, Teresa Souto, Rita Conde, Maria Ferreira, Tatiana Corotnean, Adriano Fernandes, Henrique Silva and Teresa Neto
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Jorge Oliveira: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab–HEI-Lab, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Pedro Gamito: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab–HEI-Lab, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Teresa Souto: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab–HEI-Lab, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Rita Conde: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab–HEI-Lab, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Maria Ferreira: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab–HEI-Lab, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Tatiana Corotnean: Department of Psychology, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Adriano Fernandes: Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora–SCMA, 2610-143 Amadora, Portugal
Henrique Silva: Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora–SCMA, 2610-143 Amadora, Portugal
Teresa Neto: Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora–SCMA, 2610-143 Amadora, Portugal

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: The use of ecologically oriented approaches with virtual reality (VR) depicting instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is a promising approach for interventions on acquired brain injuries. However, the results of such an approach on dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are still lacking. This research reports on a pilot randomized controlled trial that aimed to explore the effect of a cognitive stimulation reproducing several IADL in VR on people with mild-to-moderate dementia caused by AD. Patients were recruited from residential care homes of Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora (SCMA), which is a relevant nonprofit social and healthcare provider in Portugal. This intervention lasted two months, with a total of 10 sessions (two sessions/week). A neuropsychological assessment was carried out at the baseline and follow-up using established neuropsychological instruments for assessing memory, attention, and executive functions. The sample consisted of 17 patients of both genders randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The preliminary results suggested an improvement in overall cognitive function in the experimental group, with an effect size corresponding to a large effect in global cognition, which suggests that this approach is effective for neurocognitive stimulation in older adults with dementia, contributing to maintaining cognitive function in AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; aging; computerized cognitive stimulation; dementia; ecological validity; virtual reality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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