Landscape design for patients with dementia (Focus on alzheimer's disease)

Abstract

Those with dementia are still people and they still have stories and they still have character and they are all individuals and they are all unique and they just need to be interacted with on a human level. -Carley Mulligan (UK dementia friends’ ambassador)The maturing populace in India has set off an enormous number of individuals with dementia. The infection has a few and explicit indications like difficulties in arranging and splitting intricacies, memory loss that upsets day by day life,trouble finishing natural assignments, confusion with time or spot, losing things and losing the capacity to follow steps, inconvenience in understanding visual pictures and spatial connections withdrawal from work and social exercises and change in the state of mind and character. A few kinds of exploration recommend that in such cases outdoor open spaces are effective in addressing the necessities of patients, families, and guardians. The aim of this thesis is to understand and combine existing research with landscape design processes in order to create relevant outdoor designed spaces for people with dementia, with a closer look on dementia, their families and caregivers. It has always been proven that environment plays a very critical role in healing and a cohesive research-based design model guides the design of therapeutic units by providing structural and planting elements which are important for them, arranged in order to provide them comfort, peace, positivity, and effective use. As we know dementia geenerally affects the elderly crowd, and more specifically, people with 65+ years of age. Due to increased age, disruption in behavior in the elderly is a major problem that is to be dealt with. This combines with various other issues that cause physical, mental and emotional inability in them. There have been several researchers and researches across the globe who have put forward the most appropriate design outputs for such patients. Creating a healing environment is important in order to provide relaxation and stimulation with colour, smells and sounds in a safe place and places that are a reflection of privacy. A well-designed garden gives various mental and physical benefits to such patients, a few design solutions based on existing studies have been mentioned subsequently. The thesis moves forward with a detailed study of AIIMS, Bhopal and understanding the design issues and issues faced by the doctors, patients, and visitors and further proposing solutions for the same. Let’s move forward to see it unwind