Abstract
This descriptive study took advantage of a scheduled environmental renovation in a secured dementia care unit. A convenience sample of 19 residents who were relocated to the unit completed a performance-based orientation task involving locating their own room. The study included a brief structured interview and tests of psychologicalfunction (cognition, depression, and visual-spatial ability) two months after admission. Intrusions (uninvited entry into another resident's room) were trackedfor one week. Eighty-four percent ofparticipants were able to find their own rooms during the orientation task. The majority ofparticipants reported use of color (n = 13) and structure (n = 12) as cues for locating their rooms. Thirty-eight percent of those who could find their own rooms also intruded into others 'rooms, these intrusions were most commonly related to seeking social interaction. The results attest to the importance of understanding the multiple factors that determine environmental use in this population.
Keywords: dementia, environmental design, orientation, behavior
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (963.5 KB).
Contributor Information
Jill MacLean, Veterans Care Program, Parkwood Hospital, St. Joseph's Health Care London, London, Ontario, Canada.
Julia Geiger, Geriatric Care Program, Parkwood Hospital, St. Joseph's Health Care London, London, Ontario, Canada.
References
- 1. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994. [Google Scholar]
- 2. Cantley C, Wilson, RC: Put yourself in my place: Designing and managing care homes for people with dementia. York, UK: Policy Press in association with Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2002. [Google Scholar]
- 3. Lawton MP: The physical environment of the person with Alzheimer's disease. Aging and Mental Health. 2001; 5(Suppl 1): S56-S64. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4. Cohen U, Weisman GD: Holding on to Home: Designing Environments for People with Dementia. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1991. [Google Scholar]
- 5. Coons DH (ed.): Specialized Dementia Care Units. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1990. [Google Scholar]
- 6. Molloy DW, Alemayehu E, Roberts R: Reliability of a Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination compared with the traditional Mini-Mental State Examination. Am JPsychiatry. 1991; 148: 102-105. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7. Mohs RC: Administration and Scoring Manualfor the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale Revised Edition. New York: The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1994. [Google Scholar]
- 8. Alexopoulos S, Abrams RC, Young RC, et al.: Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia. Biol Psychiatry. 1988; 23(3): 271-284. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9. Gibson MC, Bol N, Gray JA, et al.: The art and science of a behavioural approach to care. Perspectives. 1999; 23(4): 2-8. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]