“Dementia” is the collective term for several degenerative brain diseases, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common. Of all age-related conditions, dementia is perhaps the most tragic. It is the second leading cause of death in Australia – the leading cause among women – and 30 percent of people over 85 years currently live with it. There are about 450,000 people with dementia in Australia and, without a medical breakthrough, there could be 1,000,000 by mid-century. That’s the tragedy. The good news is that dementia is potentially curable and, for the vast majority of people living with the disease, it is manageable, with about 70 percent currently living at home (not in an institution).1
It is clear from evidence-based research that architecture and design have a direct influence on the experience of dementia patients. Architecture can’t cure dementia, but it can greatly assist people living with it. For this roundtable discussion, we assembled four people – an aged care provider, a researcher and two architects – who have all been pushing the envelope to improve the built environment for people living with dementia.
Guy Luscombe: Richard, can you give us a brief summary of how space affects people with dementia?
Richard Fleming: In general terms, people with dementia face certain issues and challenges every day; amongst them is making sense of the world, and we can create spaces that make it easy for them or more difficult. At a very basic level, things like whether they can find their way around – for a meal or to the toilet – become very important. As dementia progresses, a person becomes increasingly confused and if the environment doesn’t assist them to find these places, they can become irritable, or apathetic and depressed. It’s so much more pleasurable for all concerned when the built environment supports them in finding those things they need.
Beyond that,GL: Jan, do you have anything to add?
