Designing Supportive Soundscapes for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia

Abstract

Sound and its resulting soundscape is a major appraisal component of the living environment. Where environmental sounds (e.g., outdoor traffic sounds) are often perceived as negative, a soundscape (e.g., containing natural sounds) can also have a positive effect on health and well-being. This supportive effect of a soundscape is getting increasing attention for use in practice. This paper addresses the design of a supportive sonic environment for persons with dementia in nursing homes. Starting from a review of key mechanisms related to sonic perception, cognitive deficits and related behavior, a framework is derived for the composition of a sonic environment for persons with dementia. The proposed framework is centered around using acoustic stimuli for influencing mood, stimulating the feeling of safety and triggering a response in a person. These stimuli are intended to be deployed as added sounds in a nursing home to improve the well-being and behavior of the residents.

The Perspectives of Professional Caregivers on Implementing Audio-Based Technology in Residential Dementia Care

“…These moments of transition are identified as hectic and cause restlessness in both staff and residents. The literature reports that sound can provide a sense of safety and structure and can influence mood positively in dementia care environments [ 25 , 27 , 28 , 31 , 40 ]. Professional caregivers shared this view that sound can influence mood and support day-to-day structure and, most importantly, identified moments between activities as an opportunity for ABT to facilitate the anticipation, transition between, and the closing of daytime activities by countering impatience or by relieving nervousness.…”

“…Motivated by the potential of music and everyday sounds in dementia, researchers from various disciplines investigated how to leverage these beneficial effects of sound into everyday care by using audio-based technology (ABT). Soundscapes or perceived collections of ambient sounds can augment the existing sonic environment with pleasant and familiar sounds to provide a sense of safety and structure for residents in residential dementia care [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. For example, introducing soundscapes that contain nature sounds, such as bird songs or rustling tree leaves, to care home residents in the morning can cue time-related activities, such as waking up and getting dressed [ 31 ].…”

“…However, there is a lack of understanding on how these interventions can be purposefully used in existing care processes. Professional caregivers suggest that the implementation of interventions involving sound in residential dementia care should not result in unintended behavior of residents, such as unrest [ 28 ]. For example, sound is not always desirable during moments in care that require silence, such as resting activities, or moments when ambient or incidental sounds are already noticeable, for example, when breakfast is served [ 28 ].…”

“…Professional caregivers suggest that the implementation of interventions involving sound in residential dementia care should not result in unintended behavior of residents, such as unrest [ 28 ]. For example, sound is not always desirable during moments in care that require silence, such as resting activities, or moments when ambient or incidental sounds are already noticeable, for example, when breakfast is served [ 28 ]. Overall, professional caregivers struggle to successfully incorporate novel technologies such as ABT into dementia care practices [ 41 ].…”

Healing Spaces: Designing Physical Environments to Optimize Health, Wellbeing, and Performance

“…Devos et al [8], in the last paper of this Special Issue, emphasize the importance of acoustic environments to support persons with dementia. From a review of key concepts related to soundscapes, cognitive deficits, and other related behaviors, the authors propose a new framework for the composition and improvement of acoustic environments in dementia care environments.…”