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Eva Peisachovich, associate professor and graduate program director in the Faculty of Health’s School of Nursing, is leading a team of researchers that are using augmented reality (AR) to reimagine how health care providers learn to care for people living with dementia

After two decades as a registered nurse in geriatrics, medical-surgical nursing and high-acuity care, one factor has stood out as essential for patient outcomes.

"I recognized the critical role of empathy in effective clinical practice," she says. "I also recognized it as a clinical skill that can be taught, practised and strengthened."

Research, Peisachovich says, has shown that when patients feel understood by their health care providers (HCPs), they are more likely to communicate openly, adhere to treatment plans and report improvements in their overall well-being. Support from caregivers with higher understanding and higher empathy scores has also been shown to lower complication rates, hospital readmissions and pain perception.

Peisachovich has spent years exploring ways for pracitioners to cultivate patient-centred care, particularly because few training programs focus on developing it. More recently, she has turned to AR as a way to enhance care for people living with dementia.

Dementia, says Peisachovich, is a growing global health priority that places increasing demands on caregivers and HCPs who may not understand what the condition feels like from another person's perspective.

In response, Peisachovich has developed Augmented Reality Education Experience (AREduX), a prototype that simulates some dementia-related symptoms, alongside associate professors Celina Da Silva and Fay Dastjerdi and collaborators from Ontario Tech University.

The goal, she says, is to put providers in the shoes of those they serve to transform dementia care education and improve quality of life for people living with dementia and their caregivers.

“We wanted to give providers and caregivers an embodied, first-person understanding – not just a conceptual one – of what living with dementia can feel like,” she says. “Augmented reality made it possible to create that ‘visceral’ perspective-taking experience.”

AREduX users wear an aging suit – designed to mimic physical challenges associated with aging – and a Microsoft HoloLens 2 AR headset that runs the program. Participants are asked to complete everyday tasks, such as making a sandwich, opening drawers or setting a table. Computer-generated objects and effects – such as visual distortions, background noise and simulated movement challenges – are then introduced through AR to recreate sensory, cognitive and physical obstacles those living with dementia may encounter.

The situations users experience while immersed with AREduX were informed by focus groups including caregivers, HCPs and experts in cognitive health and aging. Researchers then tested and refined the scenarios, examining usability and workload while also measuring participants' empathy levels before and after using AREduX.

The findings suggest participants engage more deeply, reflect more authentically and demonstrate measurable growth in compassion and communication skills. For many, the simulation also resonated on a deep emotional level. A defining moment for Peisachovich was when a woman emerged from the AR headset visibly moved, realizing for the first time what her husband may have felt while living with dementia.

Peisachovich and her team plan to pursue further validation of the prototype with larger and more diverse participant groups, address technical limitations of current AR headsets and recruit more training facilitators to run sessions.

Although AREduX was created with dementia care in mind, she believes its applications have wider potential.

“The same model could extend to rehabilitation and competency-based education more broadly, and to experiential training for other physical and rehabilitation scenarios,” she says, citing stroke rehabilitation, sensory and motor impairment simulations, and disability awareness training as examples.

Her team is pursuing funding to expand the platform across disciplines, build more advanced immersive learning environments and broaden access to the technology.

For Peisachovich, the future of AREduX offers “the ability to connect with patients and colleagues on a human level, which is vital for delivering high-quality care.

“We want to see experiential, empathy-building simulation become a standard part of HCP education rather than a one-off exercise,” she says.

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