More than 90% of persons with dementia (PWD) receive support from at least one family caregiver. Family caregivers of PWD report more physical and emotional stress with higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to caregivers of individuals without dementia. With the growing aging population in the U.S., dementia diagnoses and the number of family caregivers are growing. Rush University Medical Center nurse Zina Karana, RN3, sought a strategy to promote caregiver well-being and decrease caregiver burden, which is essential to face the future.
For the past eight years, Karana has cared for adult medicine patients with dementia in the unit where she has worked for the past eight years. In addition to being a clinical nurse, she attends the PhD program at Rush University College of Nursing. Through her professional and academic experiences, Karana knows that increasing empathy can improve caregiver well-being.
Karana has led sessions for nurses and nursing students using Virtual Dementia Tour® (VDT), a virtual reality simulation. By wearing patented eyewear, audio equipment, and hand and footwear that distort sensory input, the simulation provides the professional caregiver with a first-person perspective of living with dementia. A better understanding of the obstacles that a dementia patient experiences enhances caring and empathy skills. After reviewing the literature, Karana identified a study opportunity to apply this simulation technology to family caregivers and measure the benefits.
Last year, Karana and Olimpia Paun, Ph.D., PMHCNS-BC, FGSA, professor, Rush University Department of Community, Systems and Mental Health Nursing, examined how the dementia simulation program affected the empathy of PWD family caregivers. After implementing VDT training with focus groups, the quantitative and qualitative data from the project revealed that the interventions increased empathy for the caregivers.
These findings indicate that virtual dementia simulation holds value, especially as an early intervention, increasing empathy and support for PWD caregivers. During fiscal year 2024, Karana presented the project results to all nurses during a monthly educational event hosted by the Professional Nursing Staff Education Committee.