Trial reportJMIR aging2026
Effects of a Virtual Reality-Based Natural Environment Intervention on Attention and Mood in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in JMIR aging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05803460 (Explore the Effects of Virtual Reality Based Natural Environment Intervention Programs on Improving Attention, Emotion, and Cognitive Function of Older People), which is not on this map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Explore the Effects of Virtual Reality Based Natural Environment Intervention Programs on Improving Attention, Emotion, and Cognitive Function of Older People
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Designing for Comfort in VR Public Speaking: How Avatar Realism and Natural Environments Shape User Experience and Stress Responses.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Experiences of Nature Through Immersive Virtual Reality Among People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- VR-based nature interventions for health promotion in long-term care facilities (Nature Boost)-a mixed-methods feasibility study protocol.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAging is a phenomenon accompanied by declines in attention and emotional well-being. Exposure to natural environments has been shown to support cognitive and psychological restoration; however, many older adults face barriers to accessing authentic natural environments. Virtual natural environments may offer an accessible alternative, but evidence from community-dwelling older adults remains limited.
objectiveThis study examined the immediate effects of a single-session virtual or actual-nature exposure on attention, mood, and physiological indicators of stress among community-dwelling older adults compared with actual-nature and urban environments.
methodsA randomized controlled trial with a 3-group, pre-post design was conducted among 120 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older in northern Taiwan. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: a virtual-nature group, an actual-nature group, or an actual-urban environment group. Then, they completed a single 20-minute exposure session. Attentional performance, mood, and physiological indicators were assessed before and immediately after the intervention. Intervention effects were analyzed using generalized estimating equations, focusing on group-by-time interaction effects.
resultsCompared with the urban environment group, the virtual-nature group demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in attentional capacity, as measured by the digit span test (B=1.00, 95% CI 0.19-1.80; P=.02), and significant improvements in both positive affect (B=2.82, 95% CI 0.02-5.62; P=.048) and negative affect (B=-2.22, 95% CI -4.05 to -0.39; P=.02). The actual-nature group showed a significant improvement in positive affect compared with the urban group (B=3.92, 95% CI 1.65-6.19; P=.001) but did not demonstrate a significant improvement in attention. No significant group-by-time interaction effects were observed for physiological indicators. No adverse events were reported.
conclusionsA single 20-minute virtual-nature exposure was associated with immediate improvements in attention and mood among community-dwelling older adults, whereas physiological effects were not detected. These findings suggest that virtual nature may serve as an accessible, short-term restorative strategy, particularly when access to real nature is limited. Larger, multisession trials with longer follow-ups are needed to evaluate the sustained effects of virtual-nature interventions for mental well-being in older populations.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05803460; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05803460.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.