Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK.
Ageing and Dementia Research Centre, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK.
Cogn Process. 2021 Nov;22(4):715-730. doi: 10.1007/s10339-021-01031-8. Epub 2021 May 28.
Many older people, both with and without dementia, eventually move from their familiar home environments into unfamiliar surroundings, such as sheltered housing or care homes. Age-related declines in wayfinding skills can make it difficult to learn to navigate in these new, unfamiliar environments. To facilitate the transition to their new accommodation, it is therefore important to develop retirement complexes and care homes specifically designed to reduce the wayfinding difficulties of older people and those with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Residential complexes that are designed to support spatial orientation and that compensate for impaired navigation abilities would make it easier for people with dementia to adapt to their new living environment. This would improve the independence, quality of life and well-being of residents, and reduce the caregivers' workload. Based on these premises, this opinion paper considers how evidence from cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and environmental psychology can contribute to ageing- and dementia-friendly design with a view to minimising spatial disorientation. After an introduction of the cognitive mechanisms and processes involved in spatial navigation, and the changes that occur in typical and atypical ageing, research from the field of environmental psychology is considered, highlighting design factors likely to facilitate (or impair) indoor wayfinding in complex buildings. Finally, psychological theories and design knowledge are combined to suggest ageing- and dementia-friendly design guidelines that aim to minimise spatial disorientation by focusing on residual navigation skills.
许多老年人，无论是否患有痴呆症，最终都会从熟悉的家庭环境搬到陌生的环境中，如养老院或护理院。与年龄相关的寻路技能下降会使他们难以在这些新的、陌生的环境中找到路。因此，为了顺利过渡到新的住所，开发专门为减少老年人和阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者寻路困难而设计的退休社区和养老院非常重要。旨在支持空间定向并补偿导航能力受损的住宅综合体将使痴呆症患者更容易适应新的生活环境。这将提高居民的独立性、生活质量和幸福感，并减轻护理人员的工作量。基于这些前提，本意见文件考虑了认知心理学、神经心理学和环境心理学的证据如何有助于老龄化和痴呆症友好型设计，以尽量减少空间迷失方向。在介绍空间导航所涉及的认知机制和过程以及典型和非典型衰老过程中的变化之后，考虑了环境心理学领域的研究，强调了可能促进（或损害）复杂建筑物内室内寻路的设计因素。最后，将心理理论和设计知识结合起来，提出了老龄化和痴呆症友好型设计指南，这些指南旨在通过关注剩余的导航技能来尽量减少空间迷失方向。
