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The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual natural environment interventions on attention and mood among community-dwelling older adults in Taiwan. It was hypothesized that virtual reality combined with natural environments will improve attention to varying degrees and produce mood and physiological health outcomes in the elderly. This will be assessed by comparing the effects of virtual natural interventions with actual urban and natural interventions. Participants will randomly assign to virtual nature, actual nature, or actual urban group for a single 20-minute environmental session.
This study will examine the effect of virtual natural environment intervention on attention and mood among community-dwelling older adults in Taiwan. This consist 3 parallel groups and 2 assessment periods. Participants in communities will be randomly assigned to virtual nature, actual nature, or actual urban group for a single 20-minute environmental session. Data will be collected at baseline and after intervention. This study recruits older adults from community locations in Taipei, Taiwan. Since no similar studies have been conducted before, the medium effect size 0. 25 is assumed, using the F-test analysis of variance, α = 0.05, power = 0.80, calculated the required total of 120 participants. Data is collected using mood and restorative questionnaires, attention tests, and a digital heart variability device. Statistical analyses will be performed using generalized estimating equations.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actual nature group: Actual experience of nature environment | Experimental | actual natural environment; participants in this group engage in 20 minutes of seated meditation in a natural park. |
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| Virtual nature group: virtual reality experience of nature environment | Experimental | virtual reality experience of nature environment; Participants watched a 20-minute video of a virtual natural environment filmed by researchers. |
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| Actual urban group: actual experience of city | Active Comparator | actual experience of city; participants in the group engage in 20 minutes of seated meditation in a safe urban area. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental group: Actual nature group | Behavioral | Participants will go to the park and sit still for 20 minutes.The natural environment site is the same as the video scenes used in the virtual natural environment intervention, located in a natural park in Taipei City. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Digit span test | To measure attention. | Baseline and 20 minutes |
| Trail Making Test | To measure attention. | Baseline and 20 minutes |
| The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule | To measure emotion. | Baseline and 20 minutes |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability | measure the participant's sitting blood pressure, heartbeat and heart rate variability. | Baseline and 20 minutes |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Perceived Restorativeness Scale | To measure sleep status in the past month. | Baseline and 20 minutes |
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion criteria:
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| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Cheng-Chen Chou, Ph.D | Nursing | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University | Taipei, Taiwan | Taiwan |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41740958 | Derived | Chou CC, Lin JN, Yu CP, Chen CW, Yeh AY, Lin YK. Effects of a Virtual Reality-Based Natural Environment Intervention on Attention and Mood in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Aging. 2026 Feb 25;9:e87861. doi: 10.2196/87861. |
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The data collection will be carried out by a researcher who is blind to the intervention allocation, according to standard research guideline.
| Experimental group: Virtual nature group | Behavioral | Participants will experience the virtual reality natural environment by the researcher for 20 minutes.The 360-degree panoramic natural environment scenes were from a natural park in Taipei City.Considering the elderly user experience, this study utilized standalone immersive virtual reality headset. Once wearing the goggles in a comfortable seated position, participants engaged in a 20-minute virtual reality environment experience. |
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| Control group: Actual urban group | Behavioral | Participants will sit still for 20 minutes in a city environment.The urban environment is selected within the community's urban landscape. |
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