Purpose: There is debate about the relative merits and costs of private versus shared bedrooms in nursing homes, particularly in light of the current efforts at creating both cost-efficient and person-centered care facilities. The purpose of this project was to explore the extent to which there is evidence-based information that supports the merits of three different bedroom configurations: traditional shared, enhanced shared, and private. Design and Methods: We developed a framework of four broad domains that were related to the different bedroom configurations: psychosocial, clinical, operational, and construction or building factors. Within each dimension, we identified individual factors through the literature, interviews, and focus groups, with the goal of determining the breadth, depth, and quality of evidence supporting the benefits of one configuration over another. Results: The vast majority of factors identified in this study, regardless of whether there was solid empirical data, information from the focus groups, or other anecdotal evidence, indicated better outcomes associated with private rooms over shared rooms in nursing homes. Cost estimates suggest that construction cost (plus debt service) differences range from roughly $20,506 per bed for a traditional shared room to $36,515 for a private one, and that such differences are recouped in less than 2 years if beds are occupied, and in less than 3 months if a shared bed remains unoccupied at average private-pay room costs. Implications: Despite limited empirical evidence in some areas, this project provides the foundation for an evidence-based life-cycle costing perspective regarding the relative merits of different bedroom configurations.

Very little research has explored regurgitation and reingestion (R/R) in orangutans. We first aimed to determine the prevalence of R/R in the North American zoo population through a survey of accredited institutions. We report the prevalence of R/R in orangutans >4 years of age as 35% with some sex and species differences. Additionally, survey respondents reported fruit and sweet foods as the most common triggers of R/R. We also explored rates of R/R in a single group of Bornean orangutans at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. We examined the relationship between R/R and feeding schedule and opportunistically observed rates of R/R with and without the presence of browse and sweet foods. We found evidence that R/R is associated with feeding time and that the presence of browse significantly increased the amount of time that animals spent feeding. There was a trend toward decreased R/R when browse was available. We also observed higher rates of R/R when sweet foods were available and we propose that this may have mitigated some of the beneficial effects of browse. We suggest that future studies look further at nutritional influences on R/R behavior.

Manipulable substrates promote species-typical behavior and decrease abnormal behavior in a variety of primate species. However, the effects of providing litter to arboreal primates are not as well studied, and there is little information specifically concerning enrichment for guenons. To inform the captive management of an under-studied species, we evaluated deep litter substrate as environmental enrichment for a family group of Wolf's guenons, Cercopithecus wolfi. We expected it to promote species-typical behavior and to act as an intervention by reducing aggressive behaviors targeted toward a juvenile group member by his parents. We compared the guenons' behavior during baseline periods in which normal husbandry routines were followed to periods when the entire floor of their enclosure was covered with 30 cm of straw or wood wool. We then evaluated the group's preference between litters by comparing their relative use. The guenons spent more time feeding and were more active during both litter conditions, but relative to their respective baselines, they spent more time examining straw and less time examining wood wool. Straw, but not wood wool, promoted some affiliative behavior as well as greater tolerance of the juvenile's social proximity to others. However, the addition of deep litter did not ameliorate patterns of agonistic behavior among our subjects. Our results suggest that straw conferred greater behavioral benefits than wood wool as a deep litter substrate for this guenon group and may constitute a form of environmental enrichment for this species.