Hallways in the eyes of patients with moderate dementia
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Abstract
Inevitably, moving into elderly care facilities causes distress. The elderly need to develop emotional bonds with their new place. Place attachment is manifested through affective, cognitive and behavioural psychological processes, and influenced by social and physical characteristics of places. A knowledge gap exists regarding physical place characteristics enhancing place attachment and identity. In research, physical place characteristics are explained in words, but memorized as configurations, such as visuals. The challenge is addressing places as bundled characteristics. Combining 3D-virtual-reality and discrete choice modelling provides an innovative solution to improve the design of elderly care facilities and enhance self-regulatory processes in elderly. The questionnaire was piloted amongst 33 residents with dementia who were taken into residential care. Outcomes suggest that residents with dementia tend to prefer sensory less difficult to interpret hallways.