Caring for someone living with dementia is never easy — but Marie Savundranayagam is finding ways to make it better for families and professionals alike.

At the core of her innovation is a surprising source: virtual reality (VR).  

Marie, a health studies professor and director of the Sam Katz Community Health & Aging Research Unit at Western University, has led the development of a tool she calls Be EPIC-VR.

Here’s how it works. Personal care workers wear a VR headset and an avatar appears in the form of a person living with dementia. The avatar has been programmed to exhibit common symptoms of dementia, such as memory loss. From there the person wearing the headset and the avatar enact conversations as if they were in a care situation. After the conversation, the caregiver receives feedback on the interaction from peers and facilitators.  

The goal is to help caregivers understand the challenges faced by people living with dementia and learn how to communicate with them more meaningfully.

As Marie likes to say, “communication equals care.”  

And she emphasizes that communicating effectively begins with understanding that, while someone living with dementia may struggle to speak or remember, the person remains fully human.  

“The person living with dementia is a human first. They have likes and dislikes, preferences and abilities. The more you know a person, the more you know what makes them happy. That’s when you can provide better quality care.”

Marie, a gerontologist, was inspired to develop Be EPIC-VR given the rising incidence of dementia. She points out Canada is facing a dementia crisis, with the number of Canadians affected expected to triple by 2050.  

“We also have a crisis in terms of who will provide care. Caregivers get very little training in communication, and that’s a real issue because for people living with dementia, it’s essentially a communications disorder.”

As Marie and her team continue to refine Be EPIC-VR, it’s already being used outside the lab by workers in long-term care homes across southwestern Ontario, from Chatham to London and Milverton to Peel Region.

“We found the staff who took the training using Be EPIC-VR improved their person-centred communication and their level of dementia care competence compared to those who didn’t. Now we’re looking at the best ways to scale the tool and the program so people on the frontlines across Canada can access it.

She hopes Be EPIC-VR will shift society’s understanding of dementia.

“There is still a lot of stigma around dementia. I know people living with it can have a good life. I’d love to see the right supports in place for people living with dementia and for their circle of care: family, friends and the staff who know them best and provide care day in and day out.”