INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT

The idea for dementiadesigninfo.org originated with the late M. Powell Lawton at the Polisher Research Institute. In 2000, Dr. Lawton received a grant from the Alzheimer's Association entitled "Environmental Design Lexicon for Dementia Care". Upon his death, the project was taken over by a research team dedicated to realizing his aspirations for the creation of a dictionary or, what he referred to as a "lexicon".

The purpose of this project was to bridge the gap between environmental gerontology researchers and environmental design practitioners. Over the last 50 years, research into the therapeutic impact of the environment has created knowledge that most designers have not found useful. The information produced has generally been at a high level of theoretical abstraction, informing design direction, but not specific design interventions. The Alzheimer's Association project sought to provide information useful to both groups.

The research team first embarked upon an extensive literature review, documenting existing findings and hypotheses related to the environmental design of settings for those with dementia. In addition, field work was conducted in six sites representing different approaches to dementia design. Data was collected designed to empirically examine the relationships between design features and therapeutic outcomes for individuals with dementia. At each site, a total of six spaces were examined including the overall configuration of the shared living spaces, dining rooms, therapeutic kitchens, resident rooms, toilets, and bathing rooms. More information about this project and the results of the research can be found by reading Van Haitsma et al., 2003. (insert link here)

As the dictionary developed, it became clear that a paper copy of the information would not be easily searched or accessed by users. Funding for transforming the dictionary into a searchable, updateable website was provided by the Extendicare Foundation. The current website reflects only three spaces: resident rooms, toilets, and bathing rooms. Plans are underway to expand and maintain the website via funding from the National Institute on Aging. Using an SBIR mechanism, Dr. Margaret Calkins of IDEAS, Inc has taken over the leadership and future development of the website.