Abstract

This study systematically reviewed the literature to examine effects of virtual reality(VR) interventions in reducing psychological distress and improving quality of life of dementia patients for informal caregivers. Following systematic review manual of the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency(NECA), 320 studies published in international journals from January 2022 to January 2023 were selected using a three-step selection process based on inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality of the final four selected studies, including one non-randomized controlled trial and three pre-post design studies. Due to the high heterogeneity among the studies, the results are described using qualitative synthesis. Quality assessment revealed a high risk of bias. Those studies were primarily focused on enhancing caregivers' understanding and empathy by providing immersive experiences in VR, such as caregiver education and stress reduction. VR interventions were found to have a positive and beneficial impact in reducing caregivers' burden. These results suggest that VR interventions might positively influence psychological factors related to caregivers' quality of life (e.g., caregiver burden, depression, perceived stress). Finally, the significance and limitations of this study as well as suggestions for future VR-based research for caregivers of dementia patients, are discussed.