There is a need to raise awareness and educate family caregivers and professional commissioners, health, social and allied health professionals, housing and design professionals around the home tensions and manipulations. When modifying the home environment to support and promote independence for a person with dementia, it can sometimes destabilise symbolic meanings of home for the co-resident caregivers with great impact on their wellbeing. It can be a great challenge to marry together aspects that are perceived as important for people with dementia but also those of the co-resident caregiver s . In this sense, a house can cease to be a home and the meaning of home may change profoundly as dementia progresses. A home that was once a haven may be experienced as a sterile hospital scene and/or even a prison, "I could say [home is] like a prison now really... because you are trapped in here a lot", stated a 62-year-old female caregiver. My research indicated that caregivers need space and their own place at home to carry on caring and hold their identity beyond simply being a caregiver. They need spaces for personalisation and escape. The creation of an escape room may be a cost-effective indoor respite strategy.
In creating a dementia-friendly home, there are a number of important architectural and design aspects to consider in advance. A small or old property, lack of personal space, steep stairs, not easily accessible toilet, lack of natural light, lack of visual and acoustic connections are all seen as difficulties by the majority of caregivers. An appropriate home was the one with adequate natural light and size with at least two bedrooms or space for escape , suitable layout preferably stair-free, toilet on each level , easy accessibility to important areas e.g. bedroom, toilet, outside space and proximity of rooms bathroom - main bedroom, main - second bedroom .
You can learn more about dementia here, or if you would like to contact me about my research please email [email protected]
