Using Rendever to improve the quality of life of older adults with cognitive impairments in senior living communities and their family members who live at a distance.

美国正在经历一场大规模的公共卫生危机， 痴呆症，缺乏治愈方法，以及与这一人群的生育相关的挑战。 痴呆症被发现，新的技术和干预措施势在必行，可以减少压力， 老年人阿尔茨海默病（AD）和阿尔茨海默病相关性痴呆（ADRD）的情绪负担 成年人及其家庭成员（NIA战略计划）。不幸的是，COVID-19加剧了挑战 与老年生活社区的社会孤立和精神健康状况不佳有关。虚拟现实（VR） Rendever计划为这些挑战提供了一种创新且经济实惠的解决方案， 在高级生活社区，以维持重要的家庭关系，充分参与生活，并重新连接 与他们的过去，无论物理位置，通过其先进的通信和网络能力。 有神经学、行为学和生理学的证据表明，虚拟环境可以让人们感受到 3不幸的是，很少有研究表明， 研究了它对老年人社会关系的影响，主要是由于缺乏网络， 其他VR项目的通信能力。第一阶段测试了Rendever与居民的可行性 患有轻度认知障碍（MCI）或轻度至中度痴呆症的患者及其家庭成员， 距离我们的结果表明，它是安全的，易于使用，高度满意，并为21个居民的变革- 患有MCI和痴呆症的居民同样喜欢VR， 老年痴呆症报告更大的沉浸。这个第二阶段项目扩大了我们对直播和网络的测试 在中环12个长者居住社区中，有192名居民与成人儿童配对， 加州和波士顿的实验设计。我们的目标集中在Rendever对质量的影响， 居住在远处的居民及其成年子女的生活，以及这种联系是否取决于 居民的认知障碍程度我们还关注成年儿童是否参与 与父母的合作减少了照顾者的内疚感。如果第二阶段成功，Rendever将是唯一的产品。 这使得居民仍然可以旅行，查看家庭照片和视频，并及时回到自己童年的家， 和其他难忘的地点与一个人的家人在VR和分享故事，而这样做，无论地理位置 分离和认知/身体挑战。重要的是，第二阶段将提供严格的科学测试， Rendever是否能改善居民和家庭成员的生活质量。

The United States is experiencing a public health crisis on a massive scale due to the number of people with dementia, lack of cures, and challenges associated with caregiving for this population.1,2 Until cures for the dementias are discovered, new technologies and interventions are imperative that can reduce the stress and emotional burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Alzheimer's disease-related-dementias (ADRD) for older adults and their family members (NIA strategic plan). Unfortunately, COVID-19 has exacerbated challenges related to social isolation and poor mental health in senior living communities. The virtual reality (VR) program, Rendever, provides an innovative and affordable solution to these challenges by enabling older adults in senior living communities to maintain important family relationships, engage fully with life, and reconnect with their past, regardless of physical location, through its advanced communication and network capabilities. There is neurological, behavioral, and physiological evidence that virtual environments allow people to feel the emotional presence of others in ways that surpass their location in space.3 Unfortunately, little research has examined its impact on older adults' social relationships, primarily due of a lack of networking and communication capabilities of other VR programs. Phase I tested the feasibility of Rendever with residents with mild cognitive impairments (MCI) or mild to moderate dementia and their family members who lived at a distance. Our results showed it to be safe, easy to use, highly satisfying, and transformative for the 21 resident- family member dyads who used it. Residents with MCI and dementia equally loved the VR, with residents with dementia reporting greater immersion. This Phase II project expands our test of the livestreaming and network features of Rendever with 192 resident-adult child dyads across 12 senior living communities in Central California and Boston with an experimental design. Our aims focus on the impact of Rendever on the quality of life of residents and their adult children who live at a distance and whether this association depends upon residents' level of cognitive impairment. We also focus on the adult children and whether participating in Rendever with their parent reduces care-giver guilt. If Phase II is successful, Rendever will be the only product that allows residents to still travel, view family photos and videos, and go back in time to one's childhood home and other memorable locations with one's family in VR and share stories while doing it, despite geographical separation and cognitive/physical challenges. Importantly, Phase II will provide a rigorous, scientific test of whether Rendever can improve residents' and family members' quality of life.