Establishing Continuity of Self-Memory Boxes in Dementia Facilities for Older Adults: Their Use and Usefulness

Abstract

Spatial and detailed design aspects of dementia care centers deserve attention because they contribute to the overall experience of vulnerable individuals who need more support from the designed environment. This study examined the use and usefulness of memory boxes (wall-mounted display cases) at the entrances to resident rooms in dementia care facilities. Environmental walk-throughs, photodocumentation, memory box inventory, and staff interviews in three residential care facilities confirmed that memory boxes were beneficial in creating identity, assisting in orientation and wayfinding, and encouraging reminiscence. An additional use that emerged from this study was their usefulness as a tool for staff.

Exploring the meaning of home for family caregivers of people with dementia

“…Betrabet Gulwadi (2009) suggested that caring at home could disturb the home balance, autonomy, quality of life, and change the homely atmosphere (appearance, order, odours and décor) into a contested space with less pleasing aesthetic arrangements. This is especially evident when equipment is being introduced to support a specific human function but not to promote enjoyment (Betrabet Gulwadi, 2013;Hawkins & Stewart, 2002;Milligan, 2003;Tamm, 1999). Caring equipment, often publicly visible, symbolises a change in status, loss, or dependency (Angus et al, 2005;Seo, 2010).…”

“…the living room becoming a bedroom), home may cease to be a place of safety, control, sanctuary and privacy and may become a place of disability, intrusion and insecurity. The personal and homely atmosphere can thus change instead into a medicalised space (Tamm, 1999;Teeland, 1998), disrupting autonomy, identity and wellbeing, and compromising the value and meaning of home for both the individual and the family (Hawkins & Stewart, 2002), sometimes even upsetting familiar rhythms at home (Betrabet Gulwadi, 2013). Inhabitants may experience a 'dis-location' from home as it becomes a work place, like a hospital ward, when formal care is needed daily (Milligan, 2003) and increasingly loses its privacy, which is an essential aspect of the meaning of home (Teeland, 1998).…”

Women with dementia and their handbags: Negotiating identity, privacy and ‘home’ through material culture

“…Handbags can work as a form of 'memory box'-a way of storing objects which provide tactile and visual stimulus for memory (Gulwadi, 2013). They can facilitate interactions with other residents and with staff as 'conversational objects' (Saunders et al, 2012).…”

“…A growing number of care homes use dolls to comfort residents (Learner 2013), drawing on evidence for the benefits of 'doll therapy' (Higgins, 2010). The use of objects and images is also central to reminiscence therapy and life-history work, including use of the 'memory boxes' to gather objects which are connected to a person's life (Gulwadi, 2013;Schweitzer, 2005). Such work has shown how objects -including clothes -can be powerful triggers for memory, as the feel, smell and touch of these items have a strong affective dimension, evoking memories of the past (Schweitzer, 2007;Schweitzer et al, 2008).…”

Graphic designed bedroom doors to support dementia wandering in residential care homes: Innovative practice

“…The importance of interior design on promoting wellbeing is known but research into the effects on individuals with dementia is limited. A brief search of the literature reveals clinical papers exploring the effects of wandering, colours and architectural design (Benbow, 2013;Gulwadi, 2013;Cipriani, Lucetti, Nuti, & Danti, 2014). This project however further expanded on environmental design and showcased a successful new approach to dealing with disorientation for people with dementia.…”