Improving care home design for people with dementia

With more people with dementia living in care homes in the UK than ever before, there is growing recognition that the design of such internal and external spaces should meet dementia friendly principles. This paper reports on one part of a study to evaluate the reliability and validity of two tools: The Design Audit Tool and the Environmental Audit Tool developed to audit how dementia-friendly internal and external environments (specifically care homes) are for people with dementia, and presents a qualitative analysis of the reports presented to care homes following each audit. Thirty care homes took part in the study to evaluate the design audit tools and, following good practice, received a home report detailing up to five design strengths and five limitations following the audit. Analysis of the home reports identifies variation and variability in meeting dementia-friendly principles as specified by both tools. Areas of variability included wayfinding, the use of colour and contrast, access to outside spaces, individualization of personal and communal spaces, lighting and opportunities to engage with the environment. This paper provides valuable insights into variability in care home design and identifies common areas of weakness and strength in care homes of different type, ownership and localities.