NCT05780476

A Novel VIRTUAL Reality Intervention for CAREgivers of People With Dementia (VirtualCare)

A Novel Virtual Reality Intervention for Caregivers of People With Dementia.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 127 (actual)
• Sponsor: IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This clinical trial aims to explore if a virtual reality experience increases the beneficial effect of psychoeducational programs in informal caregivers of people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. This study will test changes in psychological distress and neural activity in brain systems that regulate stress and empathic care. Participants will be randomized into two arms: the control group will participate in an online psychoeducational intervention, while the experimental group will participate in the psychoeducational intervention combined with virtual reality.

Conditions

• Caregiver Burden

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation	6 sessions of 2 hours over 6 weeks
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation + virtual reality	6 sessions of 2 hours over 6 weeks. Virtual reality experience will be carry out in the last 30 minutes of each meeting. Virtual reality consists of 360-degree videos depicting everyday situations and allowing the caregivers to feel the specific symptoms of dementia (e.g., disorientation, agnosia, apraxia and memory loss).

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-10-27
• Primary completion: 2025-02-27
• Completion: 2025-07-31
• First posted: 2023-03-22
• Last updated: 2026-04-01

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Italy