My Voice, My Choice: Virtual Reality Avatar Life Review Intervention to Improve Goal-of-care Conversations in Older adults with Cognitive Impairment

In collaboration with Dr. Yifan Lou, Assistant Professor, School of Scocial Work, VCU

My Voice, My Choice is a novel intervention designed to support goals-of-care conversations among older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early-stage dementia, their family members, and clinical care teams in routine care settings. Participants will clarify and reflect on their future care values and goals following a structured life review experience facilitated through embodied VR avatars.

As one of the first applications of VR-based embodied avatars for life review and goals-of-care communication in this population, the project has strong potential to improve end-of-life care communication and decision-making outcomes, benefiting older adults and families across Virginia.