Social connectedness and the role of virtual reality: experiences and perceptions of people living with dementia and their caregivers

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of people living with living with dementia.

	People living with dementia (n = 8)
Age
59–69 years	4
70–79 years	3
80+ years	1
Gender
Male	6
Female	2
Current Support Person
Spouse/Partner	5
Daughter	3
Length of time experiencing memory difficulties
1-3 years	4
4-6 years	3
7+ years	1

Table 2. Demographic characteristics of the caregivers.

	Caregivers (n = 8)
Age
30–39 years	1
40–49 years	1
50–59 years	4
60–69 years	2
Gender
Male	0
Female	8
Relationship of the person living with dementia
Spouse/Partner	5
Father	1
Mother	2
Length of time supporting a person living with dementia
0–4 years	5
5–9 years	3

Table 3. Experience using technology.

Experience using technology	People living with dementia (n = 8)	Caregivers (n = 8)
A lot of experience (e.g., using a tablet, games console, laptop)	4	8
Some experience (e.g., using a mobile telephone)	3	0
No experience	1	0

Table 4. Overview of themes and subthemes.

Themes	Subthemes
Social Connectedness: Lived experiences and Insights	Social connectedness matters: Meaning and significance The social connectedness domains: Personal, community and society
Facilitating Social Connectedness	Support, non-judgement and reciprocity Fostering technology in the digital age Personal and contextual facilitators
Barriers to Social Connectedness	Dementia-related barriers Periods of disruption and change
The potential of multi-user VR for social connectedness	Readiness for and getting acquainted with multi-user VR The appeal of multi-user VR

Table 5. Supporting quotations condensed.

Social Connectedness: Lived Experiences and Insights
Social Connectedness Matters: Meaning and Significance
‘Talk comes into it [social connectedness], but also, it is about the presence. It is about meeting people. It is about reading the body language [. .] It is more than just talking’ (CG1) ‘Just talking to a real human being and getting body language and having a laugh’ (PwD9) ‘Oh yeah, it is [family] everything; it is everything. If you’re not connected to your nearest and dearest, you are nothing really’ (PwD2)
The social connectedness domains: Personal, community and society
‘Because we are on the phone with our daughter two- or three times every morning or evening. Then sometimes they ring at the end of the night to say goodnight […] So, there is lots of connectivity’ (PwD7) ‘With family, I feel well connected to them’ (PwD6) ‘He is completely cut off from everybody socially’ (CG7)
Facilitating social connectedness
Support, Non-judgement and Reciprocity
‘If I don’t push to try and keep him connected, I can see him slipping more and more into isolation’ (CG1) ‘They’d [family and friends] understand it [dementia] […] they would wait for me to work it out myself’ (PwD5) ‘It’s [keeping connected with family] a bit of both actually, you know, we both try to touch base with our children and grandchildren’ (PwD7)
Fostering technology in the digital age
‘I use an iPad. I don’t use a computer too much now. I’ve got one of the smartphones and a Kindle [. .] We do use FaceTime to connect to our son’ (PwD1) ‘He’s [PwD3] got an iPhone that I don’t even think can be updated anymore because it’s so old. But he uses it just for phone calls and text messages [. .] I’m going to get him a new phone that’s bigger, and hopefully we can get used to that before your other phone dies’ (CG3)
Personal and Contextual Facilitators
‘[PwD5] would be a social person would have always been social and loves when people come to visit, loves when the family come’ (CG5) ‘We are in a very close-knit area. There’s plenty of people around that are not that far away’ (PwD3)
Barriers to social connectedness
Dementia-related barriers
‘They are stepping back; not my friends, but my acquaintances are stepping away from me [. .] I cannot cope with the information and deal with the information’ (PwD3) ‘I wanted to have greater participation with the [name of local club], but because I cannot get in to see them [. .], it [no longer driving due to dementia] is a barrier in that respect’ (PwD1)
Periods of disruption and change
‘It [technology] is harder to use than it used to be [. .] the technology now and then it’s different’ (PwD2) ‘I find that one of the things that really is frustrating me [. .] I’m finding it quite difficult to type properly. Now, part of it is because some of those adverts and things pop up and you’re halfway through typing something and it comes up and you can’t type anymore’ (PwD9)
The potential of multi-user VR for social connectedness
Readiness for and getting acquainted with multi-user VR
‘I could see [friends name] using it actually’ (PwD1) ‘For him [PwD1] I think the big thing will be keeping connected with the grandkids that are the younger generation. And I actually think his two friends would love it, they’ve been very supportive.’ (CG1) ‘It’d be nice to be able to do something that’s more of like an experience together even if it was just sitting back watching a concert together [. .] Having something like virtual reality to experience something together [with her mother living with dementia] would be really good’ (CG9)
The appeal of multi-user VR
‘I think it is a very attractive option, there is that 3D dimension to it, which you do not have on the phone, and Zoom is all verbal. It is the fact that you can see and do stuff, I think that is the most interesting part’ (PwD9) ‘If I was in my house and if other people were in their houses, and they were in the same virtual room. That would be interesting’ (PwD6) ‘Where you are interacting and sort of communicating with the other person or see the other person’s point of view, empathise with the other person, anything like that is going to help keep him [PwD1] connected’ (CG1)

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the researcher’s OSF account at https://osf.io/brdy2/?view_only=f9f920663850451192ad1db534cbde88