Dementia-friendly architecture: Environments that facilitate wayfinding in nursing homes

Gesine Marquardt, Peter Schmieg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

95 Scopus citations

Abstract

Spatial disorientation is a prime reason for institutionalization. The autonomy of the residents and their quality of life, however, is strongly linked with their ability to reach certain places within their nursing home. The physical environment has a great potential for supporting a residentg's wayfinding abilities. For this study, data were collected from 30 German nursing homes. Skilled nurses rated the residentg's ability to perform 5 wayfinding tasks. The architectural characteristics of the homes were analyzed and their impact on the resulting scores was tested for statistical significance using the Mann-Whitney U test (P

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)333-340
Number of pages8
JournalAmerican Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias
Volume24
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Architecture
  • Dementia
  • Nursing home
  • Spatial orientation
  • Wayfinding

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology
  • Clinical Psychology

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