Immersive Simulation of Dementia Symptoms: Differential Effects on Empathy by Professional Experience

The purpose of this study was to examine whether immersive experiences simulating cognitive impairments from a dementia patient’s first-person perspective could enhance empathy among care professionals and students. 24 care professionals (categorized as beginners or intermediate) and 67 nursing and social work students participated in a 20-minute virtual dementia experience. Empathy was assessed using the Japanese empathy scale before and after the intervention. Results indicated that care professionals showed a significant improvement in empathy, whereas students exhibited decreased empathic concern and imaginative engagement. These differing outcomes suggest the influence of participants’ practical experiences and capacity for contextualizing immersive scenarios. Structured reflection and tailored guidance may be essential for novices. Future research should clarify the roles of program design, realism, and individual differences in optimizing immersive empathy training for dementia care.

Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction