Dementia Design Guidelines: Home and Community Care Capital Works Program

Published 24th July 2006

Keeping those with dementia at home is the more favoured option over institutionalisation. Therefore, the importance of respite-style services are being promoted and supported by the NSW Government. As the importance of the environment has been recognised as an aid in caring for those with dementia the provision of well designed dementia day care centres that provide support to those with dementia and their respite to their carers is critical.

At the request of the Department of the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC), HMinfo conducted a systematic review of the current literature available to produce a list of design guidelines for optimum therapeutic support from community dementia day care centres. The results of this review yielded nine guidelines:

1. Services that afford independence, autonomy & control by being adaptable to the users

2. Spaces that afford meaningful & culturally appropriate activity

3. Interior and exterior detailing that is familiar & non-threatening

4. Spaces, access points, pathways & services that use appropriate modes (light, colour, pictorial, verbal, tactile) for presentation of essential information to assist appropriate task completion (i.e. cueing stimuli)

5. Spaces, access points, pathways & services that eliminate unnecessary complexity & reduce extraneous sensory stimuli

6. Spaces, access points & pathways services that reduce agitation & opportunities for meaningless wandering

7. Spaces, access points, pathways & services that afford approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user's limitations (i.e. highly negotiable)

8. Spaces, access points, pathways & services that are tolerant of user related error (i.e. safe & secure)

9. Spaces, access points, pathways & services that support staff