Exploring the Effectiveness the Attitude, Competence of Care, Empathy Among the Home Care Workers With Dementia People

Empathy Clinical Trial

Official title:

Discussion on Virtual Reality Intervention Course: Exploring the Effectiveness of the Attitude of Care

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05541575
• Other study ID #: FJU-C109203
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 5, 2021
• Est. completion date: June 30, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: September 2022
• Source: National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study develop a new virtual reality course for home care workers to experience the view of dementia people with BPSD and the relative feelings. After the intervention, the experimental group would completed the several scales of attitude of care, competence of care and empathy, then the factor analysis and correlation analysis were measured.

In the first stage, a single group pre and post test study was conducted to extract 10 home caregivers of dementia care from Hondao Senior Citizen's Welfare Foundation. In order to explore the VR course affect the attitude of care, competent of care and empathy towards the dementia people in community, and future career.

In the second stage, this study use quasi experimental design. The experimental group (n=65) and the control group (n=65) each have a pre- and post-test design. The experimental group uses virtual reality courses for intervention experience, while the control group does not have intervention. After the two post-tests are completed, then provide the same immersive 3D VR experience as the experimental group. The measurement tools in this study used the Jefferson Empathy Scale (Chinese Version), The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Chinese Version), and three self-made scales focus on dementia care attitude scale, the dementia care competency scale and the virtual reality course experience scale.

Description:

More than 90% of people with mild and moderate level of dementia live at home in the community. The behaviors and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) would be severe by age, and often increases the difficulty and pressure for family caregivers. Also the outcome from the relative studies are limited.

This study develop a new virtual reality course for home care workers to experience the view of dementia people with BPSD and the relative feelings. After the intervention, the experimental group would completed the several scales of attitude of care, competence of care and empathy, then the factor analysis and correlation analysis were measured.

In the first stage, a single group pre and post test study was conducted to extract 10 home caregivers of dementia care from Hondao Senior Citizen's Welfare Foundation. In order to explore the VR course affect the attitude of care, competent of care and empathy towards the dementia people in community, and future career.

In the second stage, this study use quasi experimental design. The experimental group (n=65) and the control group (n=65) each have a pre- and post-test design. The experimental group uses virtual reality courses for intervention experience, while the control group does not have intervention. After the two post-tests are completed, then provide the same immersive 3D VR experience as the experimental group. The measurement tools in this study used three self-made scales focus on dementia care attitude scale, the dementia care competency scale and the virtual reality course experience scale and empathy scale. ANCOVA would be used for the correlation analysis above scales.

Home care workers can use VR as an appropriate interventions, to empathize with the situation, faced and recognize the weakness, frustration and emotional distress of dementia people. Then change the attitude and arise the competency of care, also should be considered for ensure that patients with dementia stay in good care quality.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 142
• Est. completion date: June 30, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: December 30, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 20 Years to 75 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. is currently or has been serving as an in-home caregiver for a community-dwelling patient with dementia;

2. aged 20 years and above

3. conversant in Mandarin and Taiwanese

4. agreed to participate in this study

Exclusion Criteria:

1. age 19 years and below

2. disagreed to participate in this study.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Attitude
• Competence
• Empathy

Intervention

Other:
• VR films
A new virtual reality course for home care workers to experience the view of dementia people with BPSD and the relative feelings.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Taiwan	Fooyin University	Kaohsiung

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Taiwan, 

References & Publications (10)

Dyer E, Swartzlander BJ, Gugliucci MR. Using virtual reality in medical education to teach empathy. J Med Libr Assoc. 2018 Oct;106(4):498-500. doi: 10.5195/jmla.2018.518. Epub 2018 Oct 1. — View Citation

Elliott R, Bohart AC, Watson JC, Greenberg LS. Empathy. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2011 Mar;48(1):43-9. doi: 10.1037/a0022187. — View Citation

Hattink B, Meiland F, van der Roest H, Kevern P, Abiuso F, Bengtsson J, Giuliano A, Duca A, Sanders J, Basnett F, Nugent C, Kingston P, Dröes RM. Web-Based STAR E-Learning Course Increases Empathy and Understanding in Dementia Caregivers: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. J Med Internet Res. 2015 Oct 30;17(10):e241. doi: 10.2196/jmir.4025. — View Citation

Jütten LH, Mark RE, Maria Janssen BWJ, Rietsema J, Dröes RM, Sitskoorn MM. Testing the effectivity of the mixed virtual reality training Into D'mentia for informal caregivers of people with dementia: protocol for a longitudinal, quasi-experimental study. BMJ Open. 2017 Aug 21;7(8):e015702. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015702. — View Citation

Jütten LH, Mark RE, Sitskoorn MM. Can the Mixed Virtual Reality Simulator Into D'mentia Enhance Empathy and Understanding and Decrease Burden in Informal Dementia Caregivers? Dement Geriatr Cogn Dis Extra. 2018 Dec 6;8(3):453-466. doi: 10.1159/000494660. eCollection 2018 Sep-Dec. — View Citation

Kim D. Development and Effect of Virtual Reality Practice Program for Improving Practical Competency of Caregivers Specializing in Dementia. Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Oct 18;9(10). pii: 1390. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9101390. — View Citation

Pollock M, Hornabrook RW. The prevalence, natural history and dementia of Parkinson's disease. Brain. 1966 Sep;89(3):429-48. — View Citation

Sari DW, Igarashi A, Takaoka M, Yamahana R, Noguchi-Watanabe M, Teramoto C, Yamamoto-Mitani N. Virtual reality program to develop dementia-friendly communities in Japan. Australas J Ageing. 2020 Sep;39(3):e352-e359. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12797. Epub 2020 Jun 2. — View Citation

Shin D. Empathy and embodied experience in virtual environment: To what extent can virtual reality stimulate empathy and embodied experience? Comput Hum Behav. 2018;78:64-73. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.09.012

Wijma EM, Veerbeek MA, Prins M, Pot AM, Willemse BM. A virtual reality intervention to improve the understanding and empathy for people with dementia in informal caregivers: results of a pilot study. Aging Ment Health. 2018 Sep;22(9):1115-1123. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2017.1348470. Epub 2017 Jul 10. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Empathy Scale	It contains 9 questions. There is no subscale. The score of range from 1-5.	Change from Baseline, T1
Primary	Dementia care scale	It contains 22 questions. There is 3 subscale. The score of range from 1-5.	Change from Baseline, T1
Primary	Virtual reality course experience scale	It contains 9 questions. There is 3 subscale. The score of range from 1-5.	Experimental group need to completion 30 mins intervention, then participants fill the questionnaire.
Secondary	Empathy Scale	It contains 9 questions. There is no subscale. The score of range from 1-5.	Through study completion, an average of 2 months(T2)
Secondary	Dementia care scale	It contains 22 questions. There is 3 subscale. The score of range from 1-5.	Through study completion, an average of 2 months(T2)