Investigating the impact of immersive virtual reality meditation on coherence achievement score, anxiety, and depression among people living with dementia

Introduction: Non-immersive technology-based mindfulness meditation programs have been shown to effectively reduce stress and improve users' mental health. Still, little research has been conducted to assess the health benefits of an immersive virtual reality meditation (IVRM) program among people living with dementia (PLWD). Methods: This pilot study is based on a single-arm, longitudinal design. PLWD residing in long-term care (LTC) facility (N=8) received six sessions (three times a week for two weeks) of an IVRM program lasting 30-40 minutes each. The IVRM program is used as an individualized, customized meditation tool in VR that provides more than 300 audio tracks, meditation process monitoring, and a selection of meditation environments. We used electrocardiography to measure coherence achievement score (CAS), the Rating Anxiety in Dementia (RAID) scale to measure anxiety, and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia Short Form to measure depression. The Generalized Estimated Equation (GEE) was used in this study. Results: The descriptive baseline data for study variables anxiety and depression were (M = 12.83, SD = 3.51) and (M = 7.88, SD = 1.95), respectively, and the CAS gap between before and after six sessions of IVRM (M = 81.68, SD = 24.21). The participants showed lower levels of anxiety and depression by achieving a large CAS gap after the use of IVRM. Age was a significant factor in depression (B = 0.01, 95% CI, 1.00 – 1.04), indicating that participant depression levels were age-dependent. Discussion: The findings of this study provide suggestive evidence that the use of an IVRM program led to an improvement in CAS, which is indicative of a reduction in depression and anxiety. This study suggests that the use of an IVRM program can be instrumental in reducing depression and anxiety among PLWD.