Is adding tangible augmentation contributing to virtual sensory engagement of people with dementia? Assessment on user engagement, agitation, and apathy.

The conceptualisation and deployment of immersive sensory environments for therapeutic purposes have attracted a growing interest within the field of dementia care. In contrast to virtual immersions, tangible augmented virtual experiences offer a promising avenue to foster the self-engagement of peo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behaviour & Information Technology Vol. 45; no. 7; pp. 1356 - 1381
Main Authors: Feng, Yuan, Xue, Mengru, Yu, Suihuai, Chen, Dengkai, Chen, Liling, Barakova, Emilia I., Hu, Jun, Matthias Rauterberg, G. W.
Format: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd May2026
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=193388748&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 193388748
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        0144929X
        B6Q
      jtl: Behaviour & Information Technology
      issn: 0144929X
      maglogo: Y
    pubinfo:
      dt: May2026
      vid: 45
      iid: 7
      pid: 377
      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    artinfo:
      ui:
        193388748
        187736073
        193388748
        193388748
        10.1080/0144929X.2025.2547923
        193388748
      ppf: 1356
      ppct: 25
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: Is adding tangible augmentation contributing to virtual sensory engagement of people with dementia? Assessment on user engagement, agitation, and apathy.
      aug:
        au:
          Feng, Yuan
          Xue, Mengru
          Yu, Suihuai
          Chen, Dengkai
          Chen, Liling
          Barakova, Emilia I.
          Hu, Jun
          Matthias Rauterberg, G. W.
        affil: Department of Industrial Design, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
      sug:
        subj:
          Dementia Patients Psychosocial Factors
          Dementia
          Patient Participation
          Emotions
          Communication
          Agitation
          Apathy
          Virtual Reality
          Sensory Stimulation
          Human
          Attention
          Experimental Studies
          Multimethod Studies
          Male
          Female
          Aged
          Aged, 80 and Over
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Netherlands
          Analysis of Variance
          Funding Source
          Questionnaires
          Aged: 65+ years
          Aged, 80 & over
          Male
          Female
      ab: The conceptualisation and deployment of immersive sensory environments for therapeutic purposes have attracted a growing interest within the field of dementia care. In contrast to virtual immersions, tangible augmented virtual experiences offer a promising avenue to foster the self-engagement of people with dementia (PWD) through intuitive and multisensory interactions. However, empirical exploration of the added value conferred by tangible augmentation in such contexts remains limited. To address this, we investigated the impact of adding tangible augmentation in virtual sensory engagement, analyzing its influences on user engagement, agitation, and apathy. A field experiment was conducted with 15 residents diagnosed with dementia using mixed methods of video coding analysis and observational rating scales. Two experimental conditions (with and without tangible augmentation) and one control condition were adopted. The experimental findings highlight the significant role of tangible augmentation in enhancing engagement in terms of 'attention' aspects while enabling the recollection of memories through verbal communication. The findings also indicate a trend to promote positive emotions and reduce apathetic behaviours by adding a tangible layer to the virtual sensory experience. This study advances the understanding of tangible augmentation's role in influencing cognition and perception aspects of PWD's engagement and contributes to a more informed design of future immersive sensory technologies.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N