Evaluating the Impact of VR-therapy on BPSD and QoL of Individuals With Dementia Admitted to Hospital

Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) (such as aggression, restlessness, agitation, wandering, anxiety, depression) are common to most people with dementia at some point during their illness and represent an aspect of dementia particularly difficult to manage. There is growing attention to the therapeutic effects of natural environments on people's health. Exposure to natural environments (seeing greenery, hearing outside natural sounds) has been shown to enhance wellbeing, reduce depression, anxiety and stress levels, and decrease hospital length-of-stay for inpatients. Virtual Reality (VR) is a novel technology that uses a Head Mounted Display (HMD) to generate simulated immersive experiences that elicit perceptions and behaviors similar to those in real life and can make one feel as though they are truly present in another place. Based on scientific research, previous studies, and expert consultation, we created a library of VR experiences depicting calming nature scenes designed specifically for people with dementia. The objectives of this RCT are 1) to evaluate the effects of VR-therapy on BPSD and the hospital care experience of in-patients with dementia and/or delirium admitted to an acute care hospital, 2) to determine the usability, tolerability, and safety of VR-therapy for patients with dementia and/or delirium admitted to acute care, 3) determine the effect of VR-therapy on quality of life for patients with dementia and/or delirium admitted to acute care and 4) to explore a framework for introducing non-pharmacological therapies in acute care hospitals. Our hypotheses are 1) VR-therapy helps manage BPSD (e.g. decrease anxiety, aggression, depression, violent behaviors, incidents of wandering), and may decrease the amount and/or frequency of sedatives and anti-depressant medication administered and/or the number of incidents that require restraints, and the number of falls, in people with dementia and/or delirium admitted to an acute