Tolerance of immersive head-mounted virtual reality among older nursing home residents

Abstract

IntroductionVirtual Reality (VR) is a tool that is increasingly used in the aging population. Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) are stereoscopic vision devices used for immersive VR. Cybersickness is sometimes reported after head-mounted display (HMD) VR exposure. Cybersickness severity and anxiety state reflect VR low tolerance. We aimed to evaluate HMD VR tolerance among older nursing home residents through cybersickness and anxiety state.MethodsA total of 36 participants were included in this preliminary study, 33 of whom (mean age: 89.33 ± 5.48) underwent three individual HMD VR sessions with three different contents. Cybersickness occurrence and severity were scored by the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) after each session. Anxiety state was assessed by the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y-A before and after each session. Anxiety trait (using State–Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y-B) was also evaluated before and after the experiment. In total, 92% (33/36) of patients completed all three sessions, of which 61% (20/33) did not report any cybersickness symptoms (SSQ = 0). Six participants reported significant cybersickness (defined by an SSQ score ⩾10) in at least one session.DiscussionOnly two participants stopped the study after the first exposure because of cybersickness. Age, cognitive function, anxiety trait, and well-being were not associated with cybersickness. The mean anxiety state decreased significantly from pre- to post-session. This immersive HMD VR experience was well tolerated among nursing home dwellers. Further larger studies in this population aiming to identify CS determinants are needed in order to use HMD VR on a standard basis.

Virtual reality as an aged care technology – opportunities and limitations from a qualitative study

“…This may include bigger font sizes, easier interfaces, and simple controllers (Ijaz et al, 2016). Furthermore, so called "cybersickness" is a term used in VR research to describe the dizziness that can arise when being immersed in virtual reality, especially for older adults (Rmadi et al, 2023). However, other studies have not found their subjects to experience cybersickness to a minimal extent or not at all (Campo-Prieto et al, 2022; Riaz et al, 2021).…”