Background And Objectives: Virtual reality (VR) interventions provide immersive, interactive computer-simulated virtual environments. There is interest in their use for people with dementia as they may provide stimulating experiences and improve dementia symptoms and quality of life. However, as more insight is needed about carers' and clinical professionals' perspectives to understand how VR may be implemented successfully, we elicited their views on the benefits of, and challenges to, using VR in dementia care.
Methods: We conducted five qualitative focus groups involving 25 healthcare professionals and informal carers with experience of dementia care. Participants received a demonstration of a VR headset and content and were then questioned following a topic guide asking for views on benefits of, and challenges to, using VR for dementia care.
Findings: The main findings addressed the benefits of, and concerns about, the impact and implications of VR on wellbeing, ethics, implementation, caregivers and services. Overall, participants had a positive attitude toward VR and made several suggestions for its future use to enable enjoyable and immersive experiences. Examples included suggestions to personalise VR content to accommodate heterogenous profiles and stages of dementia, co-developing protocols to address health risks and side effects and further investigating shared experiences of VR with caregivers.
Conclusion: Healthcare professionals and informal carers thought that VR had potential to enhance a holistic and personalised approach to dementia care. They suggested changes which could guide future implementation of VR interventions for dementia patients and their caregivers.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14713012241272786 | DOI Listing |
Int J Surg
January 2025
Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Introduction: Lung function has been associated with cognitive decline and dementia, but the extent to which lung function impacts brain structural changes remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association of lung function with structural macro- and micro-brain changes across mid- and late-life.
Methods: The study included a total of 37 164 neurologic disorder-free participants aged 40-70 years from the UK Biobank, who underwent brain MRI scans 9 years after baseline.
Dementia (London)
January 2025
Department of Primary Care & Mental Health, University of Liverpool, UK.
Up to 60% of people living with dementia who reside in care homes will 'wander' at some point. A person-centred approach should be taken to support each person's individual needs through tailored interventions when wandering. This study aimed to identify care home staff perspectives on what supports safe wandering for people living with dementia in care home environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNurs Philos
January 2025
School of Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
In this paper, we engage in philosophical inquiry to consider the relevance of Indigenous Knowledges (IKs) for reimagining dementia care for individuals living with dementia. We outline the limitations of philosophical perspectives aligned with Eurocentric academic knowledge, arguing that such knowledge relies on an individualistic view of self and neglects the body and embodied experience in dementia care. We demonstrate how a personal diachronicity perspective diminishes the importance of valuing the fluid and dynamic self-identities of persons living with dementia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement
January 2025
Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam UMC Location VUMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Introduction: We explored which dementia risk factors in two multidomain prevention trials mediate beneficial, neutral, or counteracting effects on dementia incidence.
Methods: We pooled data from the multidomain MAPT (Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial; n = 1679, up to 5-year follow-up) and preDIVA trials (Prevention of Dementia by Intensive Vascular Care; n = 3526, up to 12-year follow-up) in adults aged 70+. We used multiple mediation analysis to quantify the role of 2-year changes in body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and physical activity in the intervention effects on dementia incidence.
Nurs Philos
January 2025
Department of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
The moral authority of advance directives (ADs) in the context of persons living with dementia (PLWD) has sparked a multifaceted debate, encompassing concerns such as authenticity and the appropriate involvement of caregivers. Dresser critiques ADs based on Parfit's account of numeric personal identity, using the often-discussed case of a PLWD called Margo. She claims that dementia leads to a new manifestation of Margo emerging, which then contracts pneumonia.
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