Introducing virtual reality therapy for inpatients with dementia admitted to an acute care hospital: learnings from a pilot to pave the way to a randomized controlled trial.

The pilot was instrumental in identifying issues and providing recommendations for the RCT. Screening, inclusion criteria, consenting, data collection, and interaction with SDMs and hospital staff were all processes requiring changes and optimizations. Overall, patients with dementia appear to tolerate immersive VR, and with suggested protocol alterations, it is feasible to evaluate this non-pharmacological intervention in acute care hospitals.