Virtual reality adds empathy to dementia care

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 14:52:46 +0000

Virtual reality adds empathy to dementia care Mary Cunningham Fri, 06/06/2025 - 10:52

At a conference on aging two years ago, Li-Mei Chen slipped on a pair of virtual reality (VR) goggles and found herself inside the mind of a person with dementia.

The simulation cast her as an older adult in the grips of delusion: frozen in fear at the end of a hallway, watching the floor disappear beneath rising water. “There was no actual flooding,” Chen recalled, “but I could feel the panic.”

Assistant Professor Li-Mei Chen partnered with fellow social work professor Megumi Inoue to launch a pilot to train certified nursing assistants through virtual reality. Photo provided.

Chen, an assistant professor of social work in the College of Public Health at �鶹��Ƶ, specializes in aging and dementia and immediately recognized the technology’s potential for nursing home staff. She imagined caregivers seeing what she saw and walking away with a new kind of understanding and empathy for their dementia patients.

Working with Japanese company Jolly Good Inc. to adapt their VR technology, Chen launched a pilot this spring to train certified nursing assistants (CNAs) at a Northern Virginia nursing home. The three-part program combined immersive VR scenarios with online lessons and group discussions.

Wearing headsets, participants stepped into the disoriented minds of dementia patients—experiencing the confusion, fear, and memory lapses firsthand. In one scene, a woman lies in bed, panicked. She recognizes her pajamas but not the room surrounding her, and wonders aloud, “Where is my husband?”

Chen partnered with fellow social work professor Megumi Inoue to design the educational framework. The VR footage, originally produced in Japan, was updated for English-speaking users through artificial intelligence (AI)-generated voiceovers.

Support for an unsung profession

Beyond improving patient care, the project aims to support caregivers working in a field plagued by high turnover, low wages, and minimal if any formal training. In the United States, nursing homes face an estimated 53% annual turnover rate and ongoing recruitment struggles, even as demand for direct care remains high.

Though they perform some of the toughest jobs in health care, Chen said, nursing home staff are often treated as disposable. “There’s little investment in CNAs, because it’s assumed they’ll just leave—but if nursing homes invested, that would change.”

Eventually, Chen hopes to help create new VR scenes set in American care settings and filmed in English. But even with cultural differences, CNAs in the Northern Virginia pilot—many of whom spoke English as a second language—found the material relatable.

Wearing headsets, participants stepped into the disoriented minds of dementia patients—experiencing the confusion, fear, and memory lapses of dementia firsthand. Photo provided.

“They said, ‘We have seen this. We’ve experienced this scenario in here,’” said Zeynep Senturk Mannix, a George �鶹��Ƶ Master of Social Work student who helped Chen facilitate the sessions. “They didn’t even register that the actors were Japanese.”

For many of the CNAs in the program, the experience marked their first exposure to any dementia-specific training. Mannix suggested that the sessions provided a sense of validation. “Their ideas were valuable, and they were able to help shape the future of this study.”

Chen and her team are now analyzing feedback, with plans to present their findings at the American Public Health Association conference in November. They’re also working to refine the VR content and training materials, in hopes of expanding the program in the future to additional care facilities.

Chen sees VR not as a silver bullet, but one tool to support more thoughtful training. Her framework rests upon relationship-centered care, which prioritizes empathy, trust, and human connection.

“It’s about understanding the person, and building a connection that’s beyond client and provider,” she said.

Chen’s project is supported by two grants:

• George �鶹��Ƶ College of Public Health Pilot Award (2025-2026): Relationship-Centered Care for Formal and Informal Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia: VR and Multi-modal Approaches.

• Geriatric Training and Education (GTE) Initiative at the Virginia Center of Aging (2024-2025): Immersive Training: Enhancing Relationship-Centered Care in Nursing Homes through VR

Learn about more research at George �鶹��Ƶ

In This Story

Li-Mei Chen, PhD

Megumi Inoue, PhD

Topics

�鶹��Ƶ CARES intervention reduces stress and feelings of burden of family caregivers of older adults with dementia

Mary Cunningham — Wed, 29 May 2024 15:50:53 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ CARES intervention reduces stress and feelings of burden of family caregivers of older adults with dementia Mary Cunningham Wed, 05/29/2024 - 11:50

In This Story

Dr. Cathy Tompkins

Gilbert Gimm, PhD, FGSA

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of those living with dementia receive informal care from family members or friends. This equates to 16 million family caregivers in the U.S. However, caring for family members with dementia is often associated with increased caregiver burden (which includes emotional, physical, and financial strain), stress, and worse physical health for the caregiver.

Catherine Tompkins, principal investigator, professor of social work, and associate dean of faculty and staff affairs in the College of Public Health.

A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology, led by �鶹��Ƶ researchers, found that a 9-week online stress management intervention program for family caregivers reduced burden scores by 15% for 97 family caregivers of older adults living with dementia. The Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers TM, intervention was specifically designed to help family caregivers manage their own stress when caring for older adults living with dementia or a chronic illness

“In this study, we found evidence of a range in average caregiver burden levels based on the dementia severity category of care recipients. The findings show that an online Zoom intervention in a peer group setting can be beneficial for family caregivers of older adults with mild, moderate, or severe dementia,” said Catherine Tompkins, principal investigator, professor of social work, and associate dean of faculty and staff affairs in the College of Public Health.

The intervention provided family caregivers with education and strategies to manage stress when caring for someone living with dementia. Examples of self-care techniques included breathing and meditation; troubleshooting behaviors associated with dementia; and peer-to-peer support within a virtual group setting.

Associate Professor Gilbert Gimm

“Reducing caregiver burden and managing stress are critical to the well-being of families. These findings show that effective stress management interventions for family caregivers can be facilitated through online peer groups,” said Gilbert Gimm, first author and associate professor of health administration and policy.

“�鶹��Ƶ Caregivers Aiming for Resilience, Empowerment, and Support Study: Assessing Family Caregiver Burden Post-Intervention” was published online in April 2024. Co-authors include George �鶹��Ƶ Associate Professor Megumi Inoue, Professor Emily Ihara, �鶹��Ƶ CARES Project Manager Shannon Layman, and Master of Social Work alumna graduate Harveen Pantleay. This study was supported by a grant (#2021048) from the Retirement Research Foundation (RRF).

The study is part of a larger project, entitled �鶹��Ƶ CARES (Caregivers Aiming for Resilience, Empowerment, and Support), that implemented and assessed interventions for family caregivers.