Use of Immersive Virtual Reality on the elderly health, Systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the increase in the number of older adults, there is an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, which, together with the deterioration associated to aging, lead to an early decline in physical and cognitive abilities. Within this problem, scientific evidence shows that the use of technological tools such as immersive virtual reality has positive effects on physical and cognitive health in various population groups. Objective: Collect, review and assess interventions using fully immersive virtual reality systems in older adults. Method: Using the PRISMA checklist guidelines, a systematic search was carried out in the following databases: PubMed, Wiley Online Library, Science Direct and Google Scholar. The FLC 3.0 platform called “Ficheros de Lectura Crítica” (Critical Appraisal Tool) was used to assess the quality of the studies. Results: Fourteen studies were included, which provided evidence of the use, acceptance and tolerance of immersive virtual reality, as well as its effect on physical and cognitive health. Conclusions: The studies analyzed reveal that immersive virtual reality is well accepted and tolerated by older adults, as well as being a promising tool for reversing or delaying physical and cognitive decline. However, the results are not consistent due to the great diversity among virtual reality systems and content used, as well as studies with small samples and uncontrolled designs