Influence of multisensory stimulation environmental designs for day services and healing environment of elderly people with dementia

Abstract

The number of patients with global dementia has reached about 50 million. According to the Ministry of the Interior’s July 2017 demographic data, the number of people with dementia over the age of 65 in Taiwan currently reaches 250000. The literature at home and abroad shows that multisensory helps with cognitive and behavioral improvements; therefore, 11 participants were invited to participate in the study in order to explore how the day services in Taiwan use multisensory-stimulated environments to slow cognitive deterioration and achieve physical and mental recovery. Experts include doctors, functional therapists, architects, and social workers. The following conclusions were reached: First, the targets of the multisensory stimulation environment are the intervention of nature, past life experiences, the memory and beliefs of the culture, and characteristics of Taiwan’s various regions. Second, the interior design includes “fixed” and “adjustable” models and can be converted according to the needs of individuals. Third, multisensory stimulation distributed in day services are more able to respond to the care needs of different aged people than an independent sensory room.