Purposes and characteristics of virtual reality technologies for the elderly in the community: a scoping review

to map the characteristics and purposes of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies for the elderly in the community.

scoping review, according to JBI recommendations and described according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. Ten databases and four platforms referring to gray literature were included. Studies were selected after duplicates were removed and individual and peer reviews were carried out. Similarity analysis was used to identify competition between words and their results.

20 studies on VR for the elderly were mapped, the majority of which used non-immersive devices. The main purpose of using VR with the elderly is to improve and/or rehabilitate functions that decline with aging, either physiologically or as a result of illness or injury. VR devices are a potential tool for the prevention of falls and cognitive decline and favor the performance of instrumental activities of daily living. Similarity analysis resulted in the generation of a maximum tree, which identified the interrelationship between the terms "virtual reality" and "elderly" as the central and intermediate elements, respectively.

it is recommended that further studies be carried out in other environments, which could allow for a wider use of VR by health professionals, especially nurses, in the care provided to the elderly.