Hospitalization, Older Adult
Conditions
Brief summary
Older adults, especially those in acute care require accessible non-pharmacological interventions, such as music to improve their mental health. Immersive 360 virtual reality (VR), is an innovative technology that has been found to be feasible, safe, and enjoyable by older adults. However, VR based music intervention to improve older adults' mental health has not been studied in acute in-patient settings.
Interventions
OTHERVirtual reality (VR) music intervention
The VR music intervention consists of musical performance which were already recorded. This is accessible classic music. During the intervention, the participants will be able to see the musicians (and the stage, empty auditorium, etc.) and hear the music.
OTHERMusic only control
The control group consists of the same musical performances, with the audio only
Sponsors
St. Mary's Research Center, Canada
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Our study proposes a feasibility open-label RCT of a novel VR based music intervention in an acute geriatric inpatient GAU setting to assess feasibility and efficacy in improving positive emotions, pain, mental wellbeing, symptoms of anxiety and depression in older adults.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
60 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Age of 60 years or older; * Medical stability to participate in the trial as determined by treating physician (defined as stable vital signs, absence of new medical events and deteriorating signs), * Admitted to the GAU (5 north) at St. Mary's hospital.
Exclusion criteria
* Medical instability which limits ability to participate in the study (unstable vital signs, delirium, new medical events, deteriorating signs), * Unablility to communicate in English or French, * Behavioural issues/delirium that limit participation in the study, * Those who have very severe dementia (using the Reisberg stage 7 which is defined by very limited communication ability, and dependence for all self-care * Those without sufficient auditory acuity to undergo assessment and participate in the intervention, which affects their ability to communicate their consent for this study and to listen to music * Ophthalmological conditions which affects their ability to participate in the immersive VR (recent eye surgery, severe macular degeneration, severe glaucoma, epilepsy and seizures, etc.).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptability of the music VR program | 2 Days | Participants randomized to VR will be willing to use VR again compared to the non-VR group. This means that they will have higher presences, according to the Slater-Usoh-Steed Presence Questionnaire (SUS) score 0-100, i.e. a significantly higher SUS score compared to the non-VR group. The intervention will be acceptable to patients and won't have an impact on the clinical load of the clinical team. |
| Feasibility of the music VR program | 2 Days | The recruitment goals will be met (n=30) within 6 months, attrition will be ≤ 20% for follow-up. Intervention drop-out will be ≤30% (i.e. fail to attend 50% of the intervention), and VR participants will have \<1 major technical issues |
| Tolerability of the music VR program | 2 days | The intervention will be acceptable and well-tolerated according to the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). The SSQ questionnaire consists of 16 symptoms including fatigue, headache and nausea which are rated from 0 (none) to 4 (severe). Cut-off for tolerability is \< 10 over 64 years of age. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary efficacy of the VR based music intervention in improving pain | 2 days | Compared to the non-VR group, the VR based music group will have a greater improvement in pain, using the Visual Analog Pain Scale |
| Preliminary efficacy of the VR based music intervention in improving positive emotions | 2 Days | Compared to the non-VR group, the VR based music group will have a greater improvement in positive emotions using the Visual Analog Mood |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| preliminary efficacy of the VR based music intervention in improving mental well-being | 2 Days | Compared to the non-VR group, the VR based music group will have a greater improvement in well-being, anxiety and depression using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales (WEMWBS) |
| preliminary efficacy of the VR based music intervention in improving symptoms of depression. | 2 Days | Compared to the non-VR group, the VR based music group will have a greater improvement in depression using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-4) |
| preliminary efficacy of the VR based music intervention in improving symptoms of anxiety | 2 Days | Compared to the non-VR group, the VR based music group will have a greater improvement in anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7) |
Countries
Canada
Contacts
Primary ContactJulia Chabot, MD
Backup ContactHarmehr Sekhon, PhD
Outcome results
None listed