(Dis)orientation and design preferences within an unfamiliar care environment: a content analysis of older adults’ qualitative reports after route learning

O'Malley, Mary ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3636-6197, Innes, Anthea and Wiener, Jan M. (2020) (Dis)orientation and design preferences within an unfamiliar care environment: a content analysis of older adults’ qualitative reports after route learning. Environment and Behavior. ISSN 0013-9165

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Abstract

Ensuring that environments are designed to cater for those with decreasing orientation, perceptual and mobility skills, is an example of how environments are being changed to become more age and dementia friendly. However, environmental design should directly involve potential users of the environment to ensure that their views are accounted for. Four open-ended questions, focusing on orientation strategies, reasons for disorientation, and design preferences, were given to 32 older adults after they had completed a route learning task through an unfamiliar environment. A Content Analysis found a strong focus on participants’ ability to memorise routes based on verbally encoding the route and on their ability to remember landmarks, with the reports linking closely to cognitive theories of navigation. Design suggestions included the importance of a homely and welcoming environment, memorable features, and access to the outdoors. The findings can be used inform age and dementia friendly design principles.

Item Type: Article
Identifier: 10.1177/0013916520953148
Additional Information: This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article [O’Malley M, Innes A, Wiener JM., (Dis)orientation and Design Preferences Within an Unfamiliar Care Environment: A Content Analysis of Older Adults’ Qualitative Reports After Route Learning, Environment and Behavior. Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. DOI: 10.1177/0013916520953148] published in Environment and Behavior. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916520953148
Keywords: design for aging, wayfinding, qualitative research, research methods, psychology, elderly/gerontology
Subjects: Medicine and health > Health promotion and public health > Care homes
Medicine and health > Clinical medicine > Dementia
Medicine and health
Psychology
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Jisc Router
Date Deposited: 03 Sep 2020 16:11
Last Modified: 06 Feb 2024 16:04
URI: https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/7285

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