Talking Design: Why it can ‘provoke’ behaviour

06/23/21 • 35 min

Join Colm, Liz Fuggle and Meredith Gresham in their exploration of the influence of dementia design on behaviours and psychological symptoms of dementia. Liz is a UK registered architect who specialises in designing for those living with Dementia and is a design consultant at HammondCare. Meredith Gresham, a trained occupational therapist, is a researcher at the University of New South Wales, in the field of Aged Health Care, Geriatrics and Gerontology.

This panel examines design in a range of dementia care settings, with a focus on residential care. Together, they examine the relationship between dementia design and good dementia care practices. Overarchingly they share the impact of poor dementia design on the behaviours of those living with dementia through the scope of colour, size, visibility and accessibility.

The research article ‘Wayfinding for People with Dementia: A Review of the Role of Architectural Design’ provides information on architectural wayfinding design for people with dementia in nursing homes.

The award-winning report World Alzheimer Report 2020: Design Dignity Dementia: dementia-related design and the built environment, provides insight into dementia design principles and practice.

Meredith’s paper, Pre and Post occupancy Evaluation of New Dementia Care Cottages and the paper Clustered domestic residential aged care in Australia: fewer hospitalisations and better quality of life closely examine the design of residential care settings.
Flinders University paper, Clustered domestic residential aged care in Australia: fewer hospitalisations and better quality of life compares size and space.

Thank you to 'Total Construction' for their sponsorship of this episode.

For all feedback please email [email protected]

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The award-winning report World Alzheimer Report 2020: Design Dignity Dementia: dementia-related design and the built environment, provides insight into dementia design principles and practice.

Thank you to 'Total Construction' for their sponsorship of this episode.

For all feedback please email [email protected]

Previous Episode

Talking Music: Dementia friendly singing groups and choirs (Part 2)

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Join Colm and Diana Kerr, as they continue their discussion on the importance of music in the care of someone living with dementia. Diana is an experienced practitioner, researcher, educator and trainer in the field of dementia and learning disability and has spent much of her career advocating for the use of music in improving wellbeing of people with dementia. She was previously the Course Director for the MSc in Dementia Studies at the University of Stirling, Research Fellow at the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh and an associate consultant to HammondCare.

This conversation unpacks the elements of involving people with dementia in choirs and singing groups. Together they describe how to make these groups dementia friendly, the factors involved in the operation of these groups and how to ensure they are meaningful and engaging for those living and caring for someone with dementia. Diana and Colm share the unique stories of members of these groups which showcase how music is truly integral to the care of a person with dementia and their loved ones.

This episode is sponsored by HammondCare Publishing .

Diana’s book 'Singing Groups for people with Dementia' is a guide to setting up and running groups in both community and residential settings.

The editorial 'The Unforgettables: a chorus for people with dementia with their family members and friends' evaluated a museum program that created a chorus for people with dementia and their family caregivers that rehearsed and performed regularly.

The research article 'Remini-Sing: A Feasibility Study of Therapeutic Group Singing to Support Relationship Quality and Wellbeing for Community-Dwelling People Living With Dementia and Their Family Caregivers' provides important evidence on the positive effects of singing groups.

'Does a ‘Singing Together Group’ improve the quality of life of people with a dementia and their carers? A pilot evaluation study' is another piece of evidence that unpacks the effects of singing groups.
For all feedback please email [email protected]

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Talking First Nations: The importance of culturally and spiritually aware care

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Join Colm in his special episode of ‘The Dementia Podcast’ held in recognition of Australia’s NAIDOC week. NAIDOC or, National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee week, is held as a celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Joining us in this episode is HammondCare CEO Mike Baird who shares some introductory remarks and an expert panel that explore the care considerations for First Nations peoples. Members of this panel include; Professor Dawn Bessarab, a Bard/Yindijibarndi woman, Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health at the University of Western Australia and lead researcher for the Good Sprit Good Life Centre for Research Excellence at the University of Tasmania, Stephanie Charlesworth who is Dementia Consultant from SA that has worked with a number of Aboriginal communities and organisations in the NT, as well as completed her studies at Charles Darwin University in Yolngu Studies and Meghan Heatrick who is also a Dementia Consultant that has extensive career history working in greater Sydney, Alice Springs and other communities and is currently studying a master's in Indigenous health.

Together this group, discusses the current environment of care of First Nations peoples, what quality of life and care means for First Nations peoples and how this can be different from the general Australian population.

This episode is sponsored by Dementia Support Australia (DSA).

DSA has developed culturally appropriate communications cards and helpsheets as free downloadable resources for use when caring for a First Nations person living with dementia.

You can access here the ‘Good Sprit Good Life’ assessment tool developed by Dawn and the team at ‘Aboriginal Ageing Well Research’ as well as information on how to be involved in their research and further validation of this tool.

The 'Little Red Yellow Black Book' is a suggested resource by the panel as a guide to the rich cultures and histories of Australia’s First Peoples.

This resource provides evidence of the higher susceptibility of dementia in First Nations people as well as other information on First Nations health founded by the Australian Government.
For all feedback please email [email protected]

The Dementia Podcast - Talking Design: Why it can ‘provoke’ behaviour

Transcript

Colm Cunningham00:00:12.779

Hello to you and welcome again to The Dementia Podcast. I'm your host, Colm Cunningham and it's great to have you with us. Today in this episode we're exploring how design influences behavior for those living with dementia. And to do that, I'm going to be in conversation firstly with Liz Fuggle. This is a UK registered architect who specializes in design for those living with dementia. And then I'm also lucky to have her in our dementia cen