Home-based virtual reality telerehabilitation for people with Parkinson’s disease: a scoping review of delivery, supervision and implementation
Ifat Naqvi, Vishnu Vardhan, Nazli KhatibObjective
To map the delivery models, supervision approaches and implementation characteristics of home-based virtual reality (VR) telerehabilitation for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Design
This scoping review was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist.
Data sources
PubMed, Scopus, CENTRAL and PEDro were searched from inception to 10 January 2026. Searches were restricted to English-language publications.
Eligibility criteria
Studies evaluating immersive or non-immersive VR-based telerehabilitation delivered at home for adults with clinician-diagnosed PD, with a remote support component (synchronous, asynchronous or structured remote monitoring). Observational, qualitative and review designs were excluded.
Data extraction and synthesis
Two reviewers independently screened records, selected studies and charted data on delivery model, technology, onboarding, supervision, monitoring, dose and feasibility/safety. Results were synthesised using descriptive numerical summary and narrative analysis.
Results
18 studies (745 participants) met the inclusion criteria. 16 studies (89%) used fully home-based delivery; structured clinic-to-home transitions were rare. Technologies ranged from commercial gaming consoles (Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Kinect) to custom-built augmented reality, tablet-based and sensor-integrated platforms, with no dominant system. Asynchronous supervision, mainly through scheduled telephone calls, was used in most studies (50%), while only two (11%) employed real-time synchronous supervision. Dose prescriptions varied widely: programme durations spanned 2 weeks to 6 months, session frequencies ranged from two to five times per week and session lengths ranged from approximately 15 to 50 min. Adherence was generally high across studies; however, adverse event monitoring was inconsistently reported. Most evidence came from Europe and Oceania, with limited representation from other world regions.
Conclusion
Home-based VR telerehabilitation for PD is predominantly delivered through fully home-based, asynchronously supervised models, with considerable variability in technologies, dose prescriptions and safety reporting. Standardised dose reporting, structured adverse event monitoring, evidence-based supervision guidelines and geographically diverse trials are needed to support translation into routine clinical care.