Practical Use of VR with Seniors in Care Settings
At A Glance
VR is feasible, well tolerated, and operationally viable in long-term care environments, with strong user acceptance across cognitive and physical ability levels when delivered through structured programming.
Studies include hospitals, long-term care, home-based VR delivery, and staff usability evaluations.
Key Research Findings
VR is highly feasible and well tolerated in care environments
Studies consistently show successful completion of VR sessions with high acceptability across hospital, long-term care, and home settings (Appel et al., 2020; Appel et al., 2021).
VR is safe for older adults with dementia with minimal side effects
No serious adverse events were reported, with only occasional mild dizziness in a small subset of users (Appel et al., 2021).
High usability and satisfaction in at-home caregiver–dyad VR use
System Usability Scale scores averaged 77.8 (“A” rating), with strong willingness to recommend VR to others (Malik et al., 2025).
Minimal training is required for effective use of VR systems
Caregiver onboarding required under 30 minutes with no technical support calls reported in at-home studies (Malik et al., 2025).
Design limitations remain a key barrier to scaling VR adoption
Studies highlight needs for improved navigation, interface clarity, and audio-visual optimisation (Alizai et al., 2025).
Why This Matters
VR has clear potential in older adult care—but its success depends on how practical, comfortable, and easy it is to integrate into existing routines. caregiVR has been designed with seniors in mind and is safe, well-tolerated, and simple for staff to deliver without disruption to care workflows.
Our Publications
Appel, L., Appel, E., Kisonas, E., et al. (2020). Introducing virtual reality therapy for inpatients with dementia admitted to an acute care hospital: Learnings from a pilot. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 6, 166. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-020-00708-9
Malik, K., Lewis-Fung, S., et al. (2025). VR&R: Preliminary results on at-home VR therapy for caregiver respite and symptom management in dementia. AHFE International Conference Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1006986
Darmová, B., Inthiran, A., & Appel, L. (2026). Usability evaluation of “Paint!” VR game designed for frail older adults. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97778-7_14