Virtual Reality for Caregiver Assembly, Relief, Empowerment, and Support (VR-CARES)

The VR-CARES project is an innovative, collaborative effort that invites dementia care professionals into the design process of a virtual reality platform seeking to mitigate their work-related burden and social isolation by cultivating a virtual community of support. The co-created, caregiver-specific VR platform will serve as a safe, communal space where caregivers can remotely connect with their peers, share fun experiences together, access support, learn self-care and build resilience within a supportive virtual network to enhance their social and mental health and job satisfaction. Central to VR-CARES in the principle of user-led innovation, ensuring that the technology not only serves but is informed and successfully adopted by the very individuals it intends to benefit, an important standard for empathetic and inclusive technology in healthcare.

Inclusion Criteria: * Employed by an in-home care agency and have at least one older adult client with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer's Disease or Related Dementia * At least 18 years of age * Are proficient in English Exclusion Criteria: * History of seizures or severe motion sickness * Are unable to see images in the virtual reality headset