52 ‘I remember when. . .’—environmental, event-based and personally relevant objects that support reminiscence in virtual reality and other digital settings

Abstract Background Limited but growing evidence is emerging to support technology-supported reminiscence. Although some studies involved older adults, few included people with dementia. Little guidance is available for facilitators regarding the themes and objects that best support reminiscence in a digital environment or those that are best used with a cognitively impaired population. This study aimed to address this research gap. Methods Thirty-seven older adults, with and without cognitive impairment, collaborated with our research team across two rounds of participatory workshops; held in each of two locations (urban and rural town). The first involved capturing and probing memories from young childhood to present day. Workshop discussion and outputs were thematically analysed, themes with higher levels of engagement were identified and content analysis of each theme identified associated objects. These results were reviewed in the second workshop and recommendations were made as to how they could best be used in digital environments. Results Engaged and positive reminiscence experiences were supported by: Environmental Objects—prompting memories closely linked with specific settings (e.g. school, childhood home, playing on the street, old shops); Event Objects—triggering memories relating to specific occasions of types of events (e.g. holidays, dances, sports, hobbies); and Meaningful Objects—items with personal relevance for individuals (e.g. first bike, record player, telegram). Object-rich digital environments were deemed to best support VR reminiscence, rather than single item interactions which can be effective for in-person sessions. Conclusion Objects recommended for use in digital VR reminiscence support the limited findings that are available from previous research. Fewer cross cultural differences were noted, and we recommend that this research is extended to learn more about reminiscence prompts in more ethnically diverse groups. Nevertheless, a catalogue of objects, environments and meaningful events are now available to support clinical and technical developers of digital reminiscence.