A Study on the Healing Environment for People with Dementia

Abstract

Multi-sensory stimulation environments have been increasingly recognized as healing resources for people with dementia. The purpose of this study is to extract the healing stimulation factors from the analysis of interrelation between dementia and the multi-sensory stimulation factors, to present both basic data and the spatial proposal for planning of dementia facilities. The findings of analysis reveal the stimulation factors according to four kinds of senses. The factors of the visual stimulation environment include, in significant order, light, views of nature, tools for reminiscence and learning, and space and scale. The factors of the auditory stimulation environment contain quiet dialogue and music. The factors of the tactile stimulation environment are composed of the friendly touches by family or staffs, gardening, and outing into nature. Among all factors of the olfactory stimulation, tasty smell is the most important clue for dementia. This study shows that the integration of sensory stimulation is the most helpful approach to help people with dementia.