Improving environment and care for elderly people with dementia.

The increasing number of demented elderly people makes it necessary to develop new ways of organising care for this particular group, which up to now has not attracted much interest amongst old-age policy decision makers. The life of the demented and their relatives can be improved by developing environments with suitable physical, social and psychological elements. Such efforts can contribute to better maintaining the abilities of the demented person instead of reducing them further. The everyday life can be organised in small units, where the staff is specifically trained to care for the demented. This approach is now being tried in nursing homes, dementia groups, and collective housing projects.