Virtual Reality and museum collections: a tool for creating culturally appropriate resources

Case C (2024) Virtual Reality and museum collections: a tool for creating culturally appropriate resources.  Journal of Dementia Care 32(6)16-18.

Carl Case describes the development of a 3D Virtual Reality Museum Tour, based on an exhibition he co-created at Mansfield Museum—Windrush: It Runs Through Us. It is freely available online and has many benefits for people living with dementia, their carers and families, he explains.

Opportunities exist for many museum collections — whether these are defined as cultural or art institutions — to evolve into vital resources for dementia care, shifting from collection-centric spaces to virtually engaging environments that can enrich the quality of care for individuals living with dementia and their care partners.

Embracing this approach, I spearheaded the further development of an exhibition I had earlier co-curated at Mansfield Museum—Windrush: It Runs Through Us—into an interactive 3D Virtual Reality (VR) Museum Tour.

This VR Tour showcases a culturally responsive design, offering a 3D computer-simulated version of the Windrush exhibition. With this innovative experience, users can immerse themselves in the gallery among the artifacts in real-time, all from the comfort of their favourite chair at home or care setting. Immerse yourself here:

https://my.scene3d.co.uk/tour/mansfield-museum-windrush-exhibition

Overlooked and underserved communities

It is said that ‘dementia does not discriminate’ – however it does affect ethnic communities in different ways.

A UCL research team studied primary care and hospital health records in the UK from 1997 to 2018, incorporating data from 662,882 people aged over 65. In comparisons between ethnic groups, they found that after controlling for factors such as age, sex and socioeconomic status, Black people had a 22% higher incidence of dementia recorded than white people, while the recorded incidence in the South Asian population was 17% below the average.

The 2022 study confirmed findings from previous studies, indicating a younger average age at dementia diagnosis for South Asian and Black individuals compared to white individuals, with members from both groups also being found to die at younger ages than white individuals studied (Mukadam et al 2023).

Post-diagnosis, many individuals and care partners of people from African and Caribbean communities encounter substantial challenges and isolation, further exacerbated by cultural stigmas, a scarcity of culturally sensitive care, and a deficiency of tailored support services (Lasrado et al 2020).

Virtual Reality: Addressing the cultural void

The interactive Windrush 3D VR Tour can help, and it has advantages over the physical experience, as one is taken on an immersive journey into Caribbean heritage with short videos, cultural narratives, mini-documentaries, life-stories, and classic record albums, showcasing Caribbean popular music’s growth and early development.

Several senses are stimulated: hearing, vision and, if the headset is used, touch and proprioception. These properties of VR make it an appealing tool in promoting well-being in people living with dementia by providing them with a sense of autonomy, stimulating reminiscence, and providing many an escape from constrained mobility and/or pain (Appel et al 2022).

This focus of mine is not new, as it is widely recognised that the benefits of ‘visiting museums’ for individuals with dementia are substantial, enhancing cognitive performance, well-being, quality of life, self-esteem, and social support. My approach to dementia enablement echoes previous research findings, highlighting the positive impact of leisure activities on individuals with dementia (Camic et al 2017).

These non-pharmacological benefits are sadly bypassing too many Black Africans and African Caribbeans. Records show that 51.1% of white people aged 16 and over had physically visited a museum or gallery at least once in the past year compared with 33.5% of Black people and 43.7% of Asian (Gov.UK 2019).

Virtual reality is making strides in addressing healthcare gaps. VR environments offer a valuable tool for creating safe memory spaces for individuals living with dementia. In these environments, users interact with virtual objects using sensory devices that make them feel as though they are in the real world, experiencing a sense of immersion in the virtual world’s scenario. Kim and Coyle (2019) have shown that VR therapies can positively affect a range of clinical outcomes amongst elders with cognitive disorders and that they can also slightly enhance cognitive functioning in those participants.

Reminiscence and creative story telling.

The ‘Windrush 3D Virtual Tour’ enables visitors to take a step back in time to the 1950/60s which for many can be a powerful and comforting experience. This process utilises reminiscence therapy, incorporating sensory multi-media cultural triggers such as photos, music, familiar objects, vintage fashion, and the traditional Caribbean ‘front room’ with period furniture and furnishing. These elements work together to evoke positive memories and emotions.

Such triggers for creative storytelling, help to restore elders to the pedestal of family ‘storyteller’, the central figure sharing information and knowledge with children, grandchildren, and care partners who are now once again active listeners. The elder is now back in control, no longer the one being talked to, decisions made on behalf of, a prisoner in their own home, restricted from walking through the front door whenever they wish.

At the beginning of the creative storytelling process, care partners and family members think about the differing ways they are instrumental in enhancing elders’ experiences. Through the use of open-ended questions to gather and document life stories for memory books, they can enhance communication, develop expression skills, and cultivate stronger relationships.

This approach leads to meaningful multi-generational engagements, ultimately improving the quality of life for both the elder and their care partner, with many elders experiencing heightened excitement and enrichment, promoting cognitive enhancement (Coyle et al 2015).

The Windrush 3D Virtual Museum Tour, can enable, educate and inspire, characterised by self-directed, passion-based virtual learning, helping people affected by dementia discover, re-discover, and pursue their passion. The resource is assisting care partners in utilising reminiscence, narrative therapies, and experiential learning techniques. This immersive virtual platform has been designed to enhance the well-being of predominantly African and African Caribbean individuals with dementia.

In a world with limited culturally appropriate dementia interventions, leveraging this asset is crucial for families and care establishments. Enhancing the quality of care through this resource empowers care partners to create impactful experiences for those they support. If museums and galleries aspire to enhance well-being, inclusivity, independent learning, audience engagement, and participation, prioritising VR programming for individuals living with dementia of all ethnicities and their care partners is essential.

We are all of us tasked with bridging the cultural gap in purposeful activity and culturally meaningful engagements:

May we lock arms on this journey,

As healthcare providers, senior advocates, persons suffering and their caregivers and loved ones.

May we unmask hope,

May we unmask joy,

May we discover new ways to connect with and honour the persons living with dementia.

May we unmask the heart behind the disease and focus on the beauty that lies within

May we together create a future of inclusion and equality for all on this journey of life.

Sira Botes (2024)

References

Mukadam N, Marston L Lewis G, Mathus R, Rait G, Livingston G. Incidence, age at diagnosis and survival with dementia across ethnic groups in England: A longitudinal study using electronic health records. Alzheimers Dement 2023, doi: 10.1002/ alz.12774. Epub 2022 Sep 1.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Visits to museums and galleries. Ethnicity facts and figures. Gov.UK 2019.
Reena Lasrado PhD, Sophie Baker, MSc, Maria Zubair, PhD, Polly Kaiser, MClin, Veena Janith Lasrado, MSc, Matilda Rizzo, BA, Ishtar Govia, PhD, Dawn Edge, PhD. Exploring Dementia Care Systems Across the African Caribbean Diaspora: A Scoping Review and Consultation Exercise. Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. 2020.
Lora Appel,Suad Ali, Tanya Narag, Krystyna Mozeson, Zain Pasat, Ani Orchanian-Cheff, and Jennifer L Campos. Virtual reality to promote wellbeing in persons with dementia: A scoping review. J Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Jan-Dec; Volume 8, 1-16. 2021.
Camic PM, Hulbert S, Kimmel J. ‘Museum object handling: a health-promoting community-based activity for dementia care’. J Health Psychol 2017.
Kim, O., Pang, Y. & Kim. The effectiveness of virtual reality for people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia: A meta-analysis. J. H. BMC psychiatry 19(1), 1–10 2019.
Coyle, H., Traynor, V. & Solowij) N Am. ‘Computerized and virtual reality cognitive training for individuals at high risk of cognitive decline: Systematic review of the literature.’ J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 23(4), 335–359 2015.