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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05315609

Effects of Virtual Reality Meditation in Older Adults

Virtual reality (VR) allows users to interact within a simulated environment using electronic devices such as a VR headset or goggles. Multiple studies with younger adults have demonstrated that VR meditation can be an important tool in reducing stress, however, this has not been studied in older adults. In this study, the investigators aim to assess the effects of a 4-week program of 15-minutes sessions, twice per week of meditation delivered through VR with the aim of evaluating its impact on stress in older adults.

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Key information

Conditions

Older Adults Mental Disorder Mental Disorders Stress

Age range

60 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Living in the Greater Montreal area and able to speak English or French
  • Perceived Stress Score (PSS)equal or greater than 10
  • Over >=60 years of age

Exclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of epilepsy, schizophrenia, brain tumor
  • History of recurrent migraines or seizures or TBI in the past year
  • Substance use disorders in the last year
  • Psychiatric hospitalizations in the last year.
  • Acute psychotic symptoms
  • Acute suicidal ideation or intent
  • Glaucoma
  • PTSD
  • Changes to psychoactive medications in the past 4 weeks
  • Alcohol, caffeine or cannabis consumption within 24 hr before the session, or nicotine consumption within 15 min of the session
  • Important hearing impairment
  • Recovery phase of any eye surgery

Treatment and study plan

VR Meditation

Behavioral

This 4-week VR program will use the Oculus Pro-Quest 2 headsets for the 15-minute seated VR meditation twice per week for a total of 8 sessions over the 4 weeks.

Primary outcomes

  1. Changes in stress scores as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) for treatment group versus control group

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    To assess the effectiveness of the virtual reality meditation program in reducing stress in older adults.

    Scores on the PSS can range from 0-40, with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes in symptoms of anxiety as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire for treatment group versus control group

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    To assess the effects of the virtual reality meditation program on symptoms of anxiety in older adults.

    Scores on the GAD-7 range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety.

  2. Changes in symptoms of depression as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale for treatment group versus control group

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    To assess the effects of the virtual reality meditation program on symptoms of depression in older adults.

    Scores on the PHQ-9 can range from 0-27, with higher scores indicating more severe depression.

Other outcomes

  1. Changes in symptoms of mindfulness skills

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    To assess the effects of the virtual reality meditation program on mindfulness skills in older adults.

    Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Short Form (FFMQ-SF) is a 24-item scale that is used to assess whether mindfulness is related to a decrease in clinical symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

  2. Qualitative Component: Participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group with participants.

    Time frame: Post intervention (4-weeks)

    Qualitative interviews to examine users' experience of the virtual reality meditation program.

    We will conduct qualitative evaluations through participant observation and semi-structured interviews and a focus group with participants. The qualitative part of the study will analyze service users' experience, engagement, and challenges throughout the study. Participant observation will be used to provide a context for the interviews. It will also help to observe clients' engagement, usage, expressions, physical movements, and barriers.

  3. Changes in simulator sickness as measured by the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    To assess participants' acceptability of the virtual reality guided meditation program.

    Simulator Sickness Questionnaire is a 16-item scale that is widely used to assess simulator sickness.

  4. Changes in loneliness sentiments as measured by the University of California-3 (UCLA-3) item loneliness questionnaire

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    To assess the effects of the virtual reality meditation program on feelings of loneliness measured through the University of California-3 (UCLA 3-item) loneliness scale.

    The Three-Item Loneliness Scale is an interviewer-administered questionnaire developed from the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Each question is rated on a 3-point scale: 1 = Hardly Ever; 2 = Some of the Time; 3 = Often. All items are summed to give a total score.

    Higher scores indicate greater feelings of loneliness

  5. Changes in symptoms of sleep quality as measured by the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS)

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    To assess the effects of the virtual reality meditation program on sleep quality in older adults.

    Each item is rated on a 4-point numerical rating scale (NRS; where 0= no problem at all and 3= very serious problem). Total scores range from 0 to 24 in the AIS-8 and from 0 to 15 in the AIS-5. Higher scores in these AIS measures indicate that responders have severe insomnia symptoms.

  6. Changes in symptoms of quality of life in older adults as measured by the European Quality of Life (Euro-QoL) measure.

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    To assess the effects of the virtual reality meditation program on quality of life in older adults.

    Descriptive data from the 5 dimensions of Part I can be used to generate a health-related quality of life profile for the subject. Part II is scored from 0 (worst health state imaginable) to 100 (best health state imaginable). The score from Part II can be used to track changes in health, on an individual or group level, over time (McDowell & Newell, 1996).

  7. Changes in sense of presence as measured by the ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory

    Time frame: Baseline, Once weekly during intervention

    The ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory is a self-report presence measure to evaluate experiential aspects of immersive technology.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Lady Davis Institute

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of Virtual Reality Meditation in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Apr 7, 2022
Registry last updated
Jun 11, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

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This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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