Effects of virtual reality guided meditation in older adults: the protocol of a pilot randomized controlled trial

Frontiers in Psychology

Psychology

Bassam Khoury¹  Justin Sanders²  Olivier Beauchet³  Cyrille Launay³  Marie Andree-Bruneau⁴  Michael Lifshitz⁵  Karin Cinalioglu⁶  Soham Rej⁶  Stephane Bouchard⁷  Ipsit Vahia⁸  Pascal Fallavollita⁹  Bruno J. Battistini⁹  Helen Noble^1,10  Magnus Bein^1,11  Neeti Sasi^1,11  Jade Se^1,11  Johanna Gruber^1,11  Harmehr Sekhon^1,12  Myriam Lesage^1,12  Syeda Bukhari^1,12  Paola Lavín^1,12  Pedro Rosa^1,13  Serge Gauthier^1,13 

[1] Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada;Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada;Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Jewish General Hospital and Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada;Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada;Geriatric Institute Research Center, Montreal, QC, Canada;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada;Jewish General Hospital, Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada;Jewish General Hospital, Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada;GeriPARTy Research Lab, Montreal, QC, Canada;Department of Psychoeducation and Psychology, Université du Québec Outaouais, Gatineau, QC, Canada;Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States;Faculty of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada;Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom;GeriPARTy Research Lab, Montreal, QC, Canada;Jewish General Hospital, Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada;GeriPARTy Research Lab, Montreal, QC, Canada;McGill Center for Studies in Aging, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada;

关键词: virtual reality;    mindfulness;    meditation;    older adults;    depression;    anxiety;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083219

 received in 2022-10-28, accepted in 2023-04-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundVirtual reality (VR) based meditation has been shown to help increase relaxation and decrease anxiety and depression in younger adults. However, this has not been studied in Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) in the older adult population. The aim of this RCT is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a VR-guided meditation intervention for community-dwelling older adults and its effect on stress and mental health.MethodsWe will recruit 30 participants aged ≥ 60 years, whose perceived stress score (PSS) is > 14 (moderate stress), and randomize them 1:1 to the intervention or control waitlist group. The intervention will involve exposure to eight 15-min VR-guided meditation sessions distributed twice weekly for 4-weeks. Two modalities will be offered: in-home and at the hospital.Data analysisBaseline and post-intervention assessments will evaluate perceived stress, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, quality of life, and mindfulness skills. Analyses will employ mixed methods repeated ANOVA tests. Qualitative analyses through semi-structured interviews and participant observation will be used to assess participants’ experiences. Study outcomes include: (A) feasibility and acceptability compared to a waitlist control (B) stress, using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); (C) anxiety, and depression, using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9); (D) insomnia, quality of life and mindfulness skills, using the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), Quality of Life Questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) and Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire Short Forms (FFMQ-SF), respectively. We will also measure immersive tendencies, sickness and sense of presence using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and the Presence Questionnaire (PQ).DiscussionVirtual reality-guided meditation could be an acceptable, feasible, safe, and cost-effective novel alternative health intervention for improving older adults’ mental health.Clinical trial registration: NCT05315609 at https://clinicaltrials.gov.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Cinalioglu, Lavín, Bein, Lesage, Gruber, Se, Bukhari, Sasi, Noble, Andree-Bruneau, Launay, Sanders, Gauthier, Rosa, Lifshitz, Battistini, Beauchet, Khoury, Bouchard, Fallavollita, Vahia, Rej and Sekhon.