Project Summary Maintaining cognitive health has become a topic of increased importance with population aging, given the criticality of cognition to quality of life and independence. Unfortunately, changes in life circumstances, health declines, and other factors such as mobility limitations, limit opportunities for cognitive, social and activity engagement for older adults, all of which are important to cognitive health. Virtual reality (VR) systems have evolved, are more powerful and accessible to consumers, and present unique opportunities to foster cognitive and social engagement among older adults in their own homes. VR systems provide an immersive and engaging experience that give users the realistic impression of being present in a context or situation outside their home, alone or with others. Despite the significant potential of VR, few studies have examined usability and acceptance of VR applications or their efficacy with older adults. Further, most studies of VR involving older adults have targeted physical functioning or cognitive rehabilitation; few have examined social or cognitive engagement applications. Both researchers and system developers underscore the need for more rigorous research in this area with adequate control conditions, across a wider range of VR applications, and with larger, diverse samples of older adult populations in home settings. This highly innovative cross-site Stage 1 Intervention Development Project (NIH Stage Model) [18] will apply the CREATE systematic approach to the design and evaluation of an immersive VR program, Cognitive Activity Social Technology (CAST), for older adults. The program will provide a suite of virtual cognitive, social and activity engagement applications; and allow for virtual interactions. Phase I, akin to NIH Stage 1a [18], will involve focus groups and usability testing across the three CREATE sites with older adults, and heuristic analysis to gather information on user preferences, usability problems, implementation, and training protocols. Phase II, akin to NIH Stage 1b, will involve a cross-site pilot randomized trial with a large and diverse sample of aging adults (N =216). Participants will be randomized, following a baseline assessment, to the VR CAST condition or a table control condition, where participants will be exposed to similar context in 2d (e.g., online museum tours). Following training on the VR program/tablet, they will use the VR program/tablet in their home for two months. The battery of measures will be re-administered at 1 and 2-months post randomization. The battery will include demographic and technology experience, attitudes, and proficiency measures; measures of usability, safety/comfort, perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and measures of cognitive abilities, social connectivity, loneliness, well-being, and quality of life. VR participants will also complete measures of “presence” and cybersickness. We will collect real time data on use of the VR program/...