This project will create a Web-based dementia design lexicon for designers and long-term care providers that provides a comprehensive assembly of design-related information which is: systematically organized, easily searchable, linked with potential outcomes (resident, staff, family, and organization), and weighted for confidence in the impact/outcome. This project builds on a previously funded project, which has developed the basic content of the lexicon. The genesis of this project stems from the inadequacy of psychological, social and medical research to inform design decision-making. The physical environment has a significant impact on how care is organized, determining everything from the size of groups residents find themselves in for meals and activities to the people they interact (or don't interact) with, to basic care issues such as the ability to maintain continence. However, the greatest impact of gerontological research upon design has been at a global level of abstraction--getting designers to think in terms such as """"""""legibility,"""""""" """"""""sensory stimulation,"""""""" and """"""""autonomy."""""""" Yet designers are then required to take a """"""""leap of faith,"""""""" in their decision-making as to what design decisions would forward such goals as """"""""maximizing autonomy."""""""" These decisions are often based upon design industry folklore or reasoning by analogy. Thus individuals in long-term care settings, and particularly people with dementia, who comprise between 50 and 80% of all nursing home residents, may be forced to live in settings that are not supportive of their needs and abilities. This project would address these current limitations by creating a highly accessible, research-based, comprehensive database that weights information as being 1) research-based, 2) reflecting the consensus of a group of dementia design experts, or 3) anecdote and without evidence. ? ? Phase I of this project has three specific aims.
Aim #1 is to translate a portion of the significant amount of information generated through the Alzheimer's Association grant into a database format that reflects the relational structure necessary to make the ultimate product both comprehensive and useable to the end-users.
Aim #2 will be to pilot test the database on a sample of potential users (both designers and long-term care clinicians) to ensure it is easily navigated and understandable. If the resulting product is so complex customers find it too difficult to use, it will not be successful.
Aim #3 will be to evaluate the efficacy of the database as an informational tool. Ultimately, the goal is that the lexicon will be used to create supportive environments for people with dementia. Phase II will format the rest of the lexicon information into the database, translate it into a user-friendly Web-based resource, and again test its utility in informing the design process. Phase III includes final product development and market penetration plans. ? ?
