Douglas Mental Health University Institute

The goal of the (observational or clinical) trial is to assess the use of the virtual application Toujours Dimanche for individuals hospitalized in a psychiatric care unit. The main questions it aims to answer are:
* Is it feasible and acceptable for individuals currently hospitalized to use virtual reality during their stay?
* What are the effects on mental health of the virtual reality application in individuals hospitalized in psychiatric care?
* What are the barriers and facilitators of using the virtual reality application in a psychiatric ward from the perspective of service users and health care providers? Researchers will compare virtual reality users to control group (treatment as usual only) to see if the use of the application affects social and emotional well-being in the context of hospitalisation in psychiatry.
In the first phase, participants will:
- Be invited to participate in focus groups to assess their interest in the application.
In the second phase, participants will:
* Complete baseline questionnaires on their connection to nature and social and emotional well-being.
* Use the virtual reality application over a 15 day period alongside treatment as usual.
* Complete post-intervention questionnaires and a survey on their use and opinions of the application.
Healthcare provider feedback phase
- Healthcare providers working on the unit will be invited to share their perception of the impact of implementing the virtual application on the unit through surveys which will be sent by email.

This is a four-week pilot randomized controlled trial of a behavioral intervention in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Older participants are a subgroup from the PREVENT-AD longitudinal cohort. We will test whether a four-week intergenerational social motivation using a technology-based platform (intervention group) enhances physical activity relative to a control group.

In Canada, depression affects more than 300,000 adults over the age of 60, which costs the healthcare system an estimated $5 billion each year. Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with more deaths, more physical and mental health problems. LLD is hard to treat, as many people will not respond to treatment and many will stop taking antidepressant medication due to negative side-effects. Unfortunately, common non-medication treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy are often inaccessible because of long (6-12 months) wait times and high costs. In a previous study, we found that an 8-week group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) program improved depressive symptoms more than regular LLD treatment (i.e. antidepressants and/or support counseling). Now, a larger scale study is required to compare MBCT to an active control group. Furthermore, research and clinical experience during and post-Covid pandemic has shown that older adults are nowadays far less likely to participate in in-person intervention studies but appreciate and tolerate Zoom delivery of behavioral interventions. This study will compare the effects of MBCT versus an active control group, Health Enhancement Program (HEP), both delivered by Zoom, to see if it improves symptoms of depression in older adults. The study team plans to recruit approximately 100-120 participants in across Canada, who will be randomly assigned to 8-weeks of either MBCT or HEP, delivered by Zoom. The investigators will observe if these treatments improve depression as well as cognition by conducting in-person cognitive assessments. Currently there is a lack of affordable and accessible non-medication treatments for LLD that can be scaled to reach many people. If successful, Mindfulness may be a potential solution, as it is easily given in groups and is well-tolerated by older adults with LLD.