Background Dementia prevalence is expected to exponentially increase over the coming decades. Across society, an increased awareness of dementia inclusive environments is important, to promote inclusivity and foster empathy. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of undergraduate students using virtual reality (VR) for dementia inclusive education. Methods Purposive sampling was employed in one University in Ireland to recruit first year undergraduate students who had completed a VR workshop on dementia inclusive environments. Five semi-structured in-person interviews were conducted during February 2024. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed. Results Three themes were identified. The first theme ‘Food for thought’ represented participants’ greater understanding, as a result of using VR, of the potential for design to impact the dementia experience. Participants felt as though they were able to virtually place themselves in someone else’s shoes, which was described as “eye-opening”. The second theme ‘Impact variation’ revealed that although participants’ showed enhanced levels of awareness, empathy and understanding of this global health issue, the depth of learning depended on the participants’ prior exposure to dementia. The final theme related to ‘The VR experience’ as a whole. Students described the VR experience as positive, engaging, easy to use, and revealed that they were excited to take part in the workshops. Conclusion The student experience of using VR for dementia inclusive education was positive and enlightening. Using VR to introduce universal design concepts could be integrated into a range of undergraduate programmes to foster understanding and has the potential to empower future designers and policymakers to create environments that are accessible and inclusive for everyone. While this is a small-scale study, the difference in impact of this VR initiative on students with prior personal exposure to people with dementia and those without was an interesting finding and requires further research.

中文翻译：

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本科生利用虚拟现实进行痴呆症全纳教育体验的定性探索


背景 预计未来几十年痴呆症患病率将呈指数级增长。在整个社会，提高对痴呆症包容性环境的认识对于促进包容性和培养同理心非常重要。本研究的目的是探索本科生使用虚拟现实 (VR) 进行痴呆症包容性教育的体验。方法 爱尔兰一所大学采用有目的抽样来招募已完成有关痴呆症包容性环境的 VR 研讨会的一年级本科生。 2024 年 2 月期间进行了五次半结构化面对面访谈。访谈经过录音、转录和主题分析。结果 确定了三个主题。第一个主题“深思熟虑”代表了参与者通过使用 VR 对设计影响痴呆症体验的潜力有了更深入的了解。参与者感觉他们几乎能够设身处地为别人着想，这被描述为“大开眼界”。第二个主题“影响变化”表明，尽管参与者对这一全球健康问题的认识、同理心和理解水平有所提高，但学习的深度取决于参与者之前接触痴呆症的情况。最终主题与整个“VR 体验”相关。学生们将 VR 体验描述为积极、有吸引力、易于使用，并透露他们很高兴参加研讨会。结论 学生使用 VR 进行痴呆症包容性教育的体验是积极且具有启发性的。 使用 VR 引入通用设计概念可以整合到一系列本科课程中，以促进理解，并有可能使未来的设计师和政策制定者能够创造对每个人都可用和包容的环境。虽然这是一项小规模的研究，但这项 VR 举措对之前接触过痴呆症患者和未接触过痴呆症患者的学生的影响存在差异，这是一个有趣的发现，需要进一步研究。