The effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality and hands-on horticultural activities on mastery, achievement motives, self-esteem, isolation and depression: a quasi-experimental study

Ching-Chih Fan; Cheuk-Sing Choy; Chiu-Mieh Huang; Po-Sheng Chih; Chia-Chiang Lee; Fen-He Lin; Jong-Long Guo

doi:10.1186/s12877-022-03431-7

The effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality and hands-on horticultural activities on mastery, achievement motives, self-esteem, isolation and depression: a quasi-experimental study

BMC Geriatr. 2022 Sep 12;22(1):744. doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03431-7.

Authors

Ching-Chih Fan^#¹, Cheuk-Sing Choy^#^{1

2}, Chiu-Mieh Huang³, Po-Sheng Chih¹, Chia-Chiang Lee⁴, Fen-He Lin⁵, Jong-Long Guo⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Medicine, En Chu Kong Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Department of Nursing, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
³ Institute of Clinical Nursing, College of Nursing, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, College of Education, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 162, Sec. 1, He-ping East Road, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, College of Education, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 162, Sec. 1, He-ping East Road, Taipei, Taiwan. jonglong@ntnu.edu.tw.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Aging societies are a public health concern worldwide. It is critical to develop strategies that harness technology to enhance older adults' mastery, achievement motives, self-esteem, isolation and depression effectively.

Methods: This study aimed to explore the effects of a combination of three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) and hands-on horticultural activities on the psychological well-being of community-dwelling older adults. We used a quasi-experimental design. A total of 62 community-dwelling older adults were recruited and assigned to the experimental (n = 32) and comparison groups (n = 30). The members of the experimental group participated in an 8-week intervention program. Participants of both groups completed before-and-after intervention measurements for outcome variables that included perceived self-esteem, depression, isolation, and mastery and achievement motives, which were analyzed using the generalized estimating equation (GEE). A baseline score of depression was used as an adjustment for the GEE analyses to eliminate the effects of depression on outcomes.

Results: After controlling age and gender as confounders, GEE analyses indicated that the experimental group showed significant post-intervention improvements in scores for self-esteem (β = 2.18, P = .005) and mastery (β = 1.23, P = .039), compared to the control group.

Conclusions: This study supported a combination of three-dimensional VR and hands-on horticultural activities on community-dwelling older adults to improve self-esteem and mastery. The findings suggest that the future implementation of a similar program would be feasible and beneficial to community-dwelling older adults.

Trial registration: The study was posted on www.

Clinicaltrials: gov (NCT05087654) on 21/10/2021. It was approved by the Institutional Review Board of En Chu Kong Hospital and performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Keywords: 3D virtual reality; Community-dwelling; Horticultural therapy; Older adults; Psychological well-being.

Publication types

Clinical Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aging / psychology
Depression* / psychology
Depression* / therapy
Humans
Independent Living / psychology
Self Concept
Virtual Reality*