Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe several progressive diseases, characterised by symptoms of cognitive dysfunction and communication difficulties which cause difficulties with day to day functioning and frequently led to health and social care crises. The preferred place of habitation for People with Dementia (PwD) is to remain in their own home throughout their life which offers familiar surroundings and a sense of control. Evidence-based healthcare design has been shown to be beneficial in the homes of PwD by reducing challenging dementia symptoms and behaviours. These concepts include the adaptation the home via changing colour, lighting, sound and temperature. Advice detailing how these concepts can be used by PwD and their carers at home is available from a number of different sources. However, it remains unclear how home adaptation information is accessed and utilised and what the barriers to home adaptation are. The project consisted of three studies: Firstly, a qualitative exploratory study looking at the use of home adaptation by PwD and their carers in their own home. The second study investigated how comprehensible and accessible people find different information sources and how participants would prefer to receive information about dementia. The third study attempted to identify what home adaptation information is provided by health, social care and charity practitioners and how professionals feel about their own level of home adaptation for dementia knowledge. The overall results led to the production of recommendations which have the potential to improve the uptake of home adaptation for dementia in domestic dwellings. These include providing individualised home adaptation information provided closer to diagnosis. This would encourage dementia specific adaptations to be completed within the Optimal Home Adaptation Phase, described as the time between diagnosis and the time where deterioration makes familiarity the driving force of the home environment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:759722 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Allen, Frances M. |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/111256/ |
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