Wayfinding in medical facilities is difficult without proper orientation and visual cues. It is especially more challenging for people with dementia who struggle to remember where they have been. This study was based on the review of available literature on wayfinding for people with dementia in nursing homes.
The objective of the literature review was to focus on the relationship between the architecture and wayfinding for people with dementia and substantiate the results through interdisciplinary interpretation.
No specific research methodology was discussed by the author.
The analysis of the Time and Motion study data showed that the nurses spent most of their time on other activities and not on patients. The results showed that patient contact assessment was only at 7.2% and patient care activities at 19.3%. Initial data did not show that the architecture influenced the nurses’ movement or activities. They spent most of their time at the nurse station at 38.6% and patient rooms at 30.8%. For this study the data analysis showed that spatial properties of nurse assignments had a predictable impact on the patterns of nurse movement through the facility. Nurses with particular assignments made more visits to patient rooms and nurse stations. Specifically, two movement strategies were identified by the analysis: a high frequency of short trips and fewer longer trips. Increased frequency of trips to patient rooms may contribute to more time spent in patient care, leading to better health outcomes but also to exhaustion among nurses.
The study was based solely on literature review without actual data collection.