Ageing & Culture – Page 8 – Designing for Aged Care

Ageing & Culture, Caregiving, International Policies, The Built Environment

Experience how a person with dementia grapple with complex flooring patterns

Posted on December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 by Joanna Sun

This has been going around the web for the last couple of weeks and everyone has been all over it trying to find the panda among the snowman or the cat among the owls. It has been a fun experience for most of us and for some it may be quite frustrating. Some people who are able to find the cat or the panda have posted bragged about how quickly they may have found it on facebook.

We know this happens and we talk about how confusing complex flooring patterns can be for people with dementia. They may not be able to distinguish the area and may have difficulties walking around. Imagine if you had dropped your keys on the floor or a purse on a carpet

It would be like looking for the animals in these pictures. See if you can find the panda in the first picture and the cat in the second. .

1. Find the Panda above in the midst of the snowman.

2. Find the cat in the sea of owls.

Images created by Gergely “Dudolf” Dudás and more images can be found on Dudolph’s Facebook page.

Researchers are still trying to work out how the brain tries to categorise objects. The latest breakthrough came from Monash University where researchers are trying to utilise a new imaging technique known as the semantic wavelet-induced frequency-tagging (SWIFT) to help us find the answers (Koenig-Robert et al. 2015).

If you are caring for someone with dementia or working with people with dementia, please stop and have a think about the type of flooring and perhaps these principles from Prof. Richard Fleming and Kirsty Bennett, University of Wollongong might come in really handy in the decision making process.

Reduces unhelpful stimulation
Optimise helpful stimulation
Support movement and engagement

Just trying to find the panda and the cat may be somewhat easy or really quite frustrating for some. It will take a couple of seconds at least and that is the situation that that people experiecing cognitive impairment have to grapple with when they come up against environments of complex designs. We have to take our current experience with hunting for the panda or cat and multiply that by ten or even a hundred folds. So before you choose that intricately design carpet for your flooring, please stop and think if the choice you are making is an inclusive one for people with dementia.

References:

Fleming R, Bowles J. Units for the confused and disturbed elderly: Development, Design, Programmimg and Evaluation. Australian Journal on Ageing. 1987 November;6(4):25-8.

Fleming R, Forbes I, Bennett K. Adapting the ward for people with dementia. Sydney: NSW Department of Health; 2003.

Koenig-Robert R, VanRullen R, Tsuchiya N (2015) Semantic Wavelet-Induced Frequency-Tagging (SWIFT) Periodically Activates Category Selective Areas While Steadily Activating Early Visual Areas. PLoS ONE 10(12): e0144858.

An inspirational project by a local Singaporean Melissa Chan to support people with dementia and their caregivers in the community.

Melissa’s story

Ageing & Culture, Caregiving, International Policies, Research & Best Practice, The Built Environment, Therapeutic Activities

Food Nostalgia Workshops, a deliciously fresh idea to support Dementia

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Joanna Sun

One of my fondest memories working in aged care in Australia was the talking about Christmas recipes with all the residents during this holiday season. For many of us who have slaved over the stovetop during the festive seasons, you know what I am talking about. To get that perfect Christmas fruitcake was a project months in the making. I usually worked the Christmas shifts and we would always get together and you could see all the ladies eyes lit up like the fairy lights on the Christmas tree as we chatted away about our favourite Christmas dishes, the delectable treats and without a doubt, everyone, literally all the ladies had some cooking tips and advice to share. Sometimes, even their families would join in the conversation and I had to pry myself out of the room haha. From Pavlovas, Dundee cakes, Christmas cakes, brandy butter to Medisterkaker. Everyone had something lovely to share. You can tell I love the Christmas season.

Anyway I found out that in the UK, Magna Vitae is working on a new health initiative to support people with dementia and their caregivers. Guess what? It’s all about food! In January 2016, they will be running a string of dementia friendly workshops known as ‘Feeding Memories’ for people with dementia and their caregivers in the UK.

This workshop certainly breathes innovation, food is such an important component in our daily lives. The workshop is a food reminiscence therapy programme, helping to ‘revive the senses’ through utilising food packaging from the past and it seems like there might be some cooking involved as well. It doesn’t stop there, the workshop has an inclusive and community aspect, sharing the importance of nutrition, diet and getting people socially engaged in their common love for food.

I’m really excited about the workshop and I hope that there will be more of these workshops to go around, especially in the Memory Cafes.

Anyway here’s wishing everyone Happy Holidays.

xoxo

Source: http://www.magnavitae.org/mvitae/about

Ageing & Culture, Caregiving, International Policies, The Built Environment

‘I do my crying in the shower’

Posted on December 21, 2015December 17, 2015 by Joanna Sun

Alison Bulmer shares the honest truth about the challenges she and her husband endure in the face of dementia. Around the world, many are trapped in isolation and loneliness. With 46.8 million people globally living with dementia, and no exact numbers of the sum of people impacted by the condition. We need to come together to help support both people with dementia and their caregivers to create an inclusive environment.

Source: ‘I do my crying in the shower’ – BBC News

Caring for a husband with dementia is a lonely and isolating experience, Alison Bulmer says.

Ageing & Culture, Caregiving, International Campaigns, International Policies, Research & Best Practice, The Built Environment, Therapeutic Activities

Enabling Village: Promoting social connections at supermarkets

Posted on December 18, 2015December 18, 2015 by Joanna Sun

Yesterday’s post about seniors taking their own lives really hit a nerve and today, like a ray of sunshine, this article appeared in the Today’s papers online. It’s heartwarming to know that more is being done to create inclusion in the community.

A really great article by Dr Thang Leng Leng about a cool program happening in Singapore, the enabling village. I hope it will take off and be highly successful among the Singaporean community. An inclusive society is definitely the way to go! It’s also really good to know that NTUC LearningHub has started training 100 supermarket frontline staff to help senior customers, and especially in the areas of dementia. Good on you NTUC!

At this month’s opening of the Enabling Village — Singapore’s first community space for people with disabilities — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on Singaporeans to continue building a more inclusive society by valuing everyone, and through active citizenship.

Source: Promoting social connections at supermarkets | TODAYonline

Ageing & Culture, Caregiving, International Campaigns, International Policies, Research & Best Practice, The Built Environment

More seniors in Singapore taking own lives – Are we going to take a back seat after reading the news?

Posted on December 17, 2015December 17, 2015 by Joanna Sun

The Straits times reported that there’s a 60% increase in seniors in Singapore taking their own lives. I hope Singaporeans are not going to take a back seat after reading the article, instead, I’m hopeful that fellow Singaporeans will be saying how can we all do our part to help?

We as a community need to work on social inclusion, work on de-stigmatising the negative stereotypes of ageing, mental health and chronic illness.

We know what we need to do, we know it takes a community effort, a top down and bottom up approach. From policy to public education to infrastructure, it takes a community, it takes a kampong, it takes heart.

We saw Singaporeans come together for events like SG50, stand strong during the SARS, we have sailed through one economic crisis after another, standing strong together as a nation, and yet we have let our elders down.

We’ve taken on NIMBY attitudes, mental illness is still feared and jeered, and we continue to expect others to manage these issues and not prevent them. We all can play a part as Singaporeans to provide support and care, in fact there’s research that indicates that caring can contribute to our own positive well-being (Jagger, Carol et al. 2015).

We need to stop managing issues and work to prevent them, to help fellow older Singaporeans to live well, to live comfortably, with dignity and respect. To feel accepted, included, and be part of the greater community. It’s painful to think that a fellow Singaporean in our day and age feel that they cannot reach out for help, to feel like a burden, to feel like they should not have existed to unburden themselves or others from suffering.

We know healthy ageing is possible (Raposa et al. 2015). We need to open our hearts to love more, to learn more, achieve happiness as one people, one nation, and to pass on positive values to our children.

Helplines in Singapore

Samaritans of Singapore (SOS): 1800- 221-4444 (24-hour)

IMH Mobile Crisis Service: 6389-2222 (24-hour)

Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Seniors Helpline: 1800-555-5555

Singapore News -The golden years are losing their lustre for a rising number of the elderly here, with more taking their lives in the later phase of life. There is a nearly 60 per cent jump from figure in 2000; social isolation and physical and mental ill health may be contributing factors. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Source: More seniors in Singapore taking own lives, Singapore News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Reference:

Jagger, Carol et al. (2015). A comparison of health expectancies over two decades in England: results of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study I and II. The Lancet, Published online.

Raposa E.B Laws H.B Ansell E.B (2015). Prosocial Behavior Mitigates the Negative Effects of Stress in Everyday Life. Clinical Psychological Science. Published before print.