User Experience Testing of the Meta Quest 2 for Integration With the Virtual Reality Simulation for Dementia Coaching, Advocacy, Respite, Education, Relationship, and Simulation (VR-SIM CARERS) Program

Caregivers (CGs) of persons with dementia (PWDs) face numerous challenges, including learning about the condition, managing behavioral symptoms, and prioritizing their own well-being. Virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged as a promising tool to adopt certain elements of existing CG psychoeducation programs, such as the Reitman Centre CARERS (coaching, advocacy, respite, education, relationship, and simulation) program, which has been shown effective in reducing CG burden and stress and building the required skills for caring for PWD. Recently, we have developed a VR prototype utilizing Meta Quest 2 (Meta, Menlo Park, CA, USA), which will be referred to as the (virtual reality simulation for dementia CARERS) VR-SIM CARERS program. This technical report aims to describe the early stages of intervention modeling by testing user experiences related to the hardware used. The Meta Quest 2 VR system is chosen for its accessibility and functionality, aiming to ensure widespread access. Through interviews and observational techniques, we explored CGs age-matched controls' attitudes, comfort, and proficiency with the Meta Quest 2 VR system, which are crucial for informing technological choices. Initial findings revealed mixed attitudes, comfort, and proficiency about the Meta Quest 2 VR system. Although further testing of the Meta Quest 2 VR system within the CG community is warranted, the interpretation of these preliminary results indicates that the VR-SIM CARERS program should have minimal technological skill requirements for user engagement or provide in-depth training resources for the CGs who choose to use the system.