Can buildings light up lives of people with dementia?

Jane Waterhouse is passionate about filling a knowledge gap in New Zealand about how to design houses for people with dementia.

Working with the support of the University’s Future Cities Research Hub and Centre for Co-created Ageing Research, Waterhouse aims to empower older people with dementia to participate in research and co-create solutions.

“There has been very little research on the design of built environments for people with dementia in New Zealand.

“Most of the relevant overseas research has not included interviews with people with dementia.

“I wanted to talk with people in the community with dementia, to try to get their perspectives about what environments are comfortable for them,” says Waterhouse.

Her focus is on natural light levels in houses, which have significant impacts on people with dementia. If lighting is too low, that can exacerbate problems with visual perception, increase agitation, cause falls, and impact on sleep.

“Many people with dementia have more trouble seeing, because eyesight deteriorates with age and because the ability to process visual stimuli can deteriorate.

“Older people with dementia also tend to be more sensitive to glare. Bright spots of light and shadows can be disturbing because they struggle to understand what they are.”

Waterhouse has monitored natural light levels in various areas of the homes of people with dementia and asked about their comfort with different light levels.

She is also measuring contrast between surfaces in people’s homes. High contrast materials are important to help people with dementia find their way around houses, because changes in the eyes and brain cause reduced sensitivity to contrast, she says.

“In dementia-friendly environments, you need contrast between the walls and floors and to accentuate where levels change. Furniture also needs to stand out, because if you can’t find your chair, you’re more likely to need extra care,” says Waterhouse.

Part of her research involves testing methods to interview older people with dementia about the built environment. Waterhouse has used photos of different parts of houses and talking mats to help gather participants’ views.

Conducting interviews with people with dementia involves overcoming numerous practical and ethical challenges.

“The stigma of being a person with dementia has made it more difficult to find participants for this research.

“You need to have so much flexibility, because even if the person with dementia is available, their carers are often overwhelmed with caring responsibilities.

“So it’s been a real challenge making sure the research fits around their lives and doesn’t impede them.”

Waterhouse won doctoral scholarships from the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) and the University to carry out her groundbreaking research.

Her findings will inform a larger project on dementia-friendly housing in New Zealand that has received a $200,000 grant from BRANZ.

This project will apply the research methods Waterhouse develops to larger samples of people with dementia. The ultimate aim is to inform the development of New Zealand guidelines for natural light in dementia-friendly house design.

Guidelines for modifying existing houses to help older people with dementia will also be developed.

The BRANZ project is a collaboration between the University’s School of Architecture and Planning, Future Cities Research Hub and the Centre for Co-created Ageing Research. It will be led by senior lecturer in architecture and planning Dr Alessandro Premier, collaborating with professors Paola Boarin and Vanessa Burholt. The project will pull together industry and academic experts from different sectors and disciplines.

While natural light is the first focus of both projects, other aspects of dementia-friendly design are being examined by the Centre for Co-created Ageing Research.

These include planning spaces that are easy for people with dementia to navigate and easy for caregivers to work within.

Acoustics need to be carefully considered, because people with dementia can be confused or agitated by noises if they can’t see their source. The ability to detect temperature changes also fades as dementia progresses, so heat needs to be managed.

Waterhouse says it’s vital to build a culture in New Zealand that considers the housing and design needs of people with dementia, as well as access for people with mobility issues.

“This research is important because there are people who are not able to live their lives as well as they could – and that’s not fair. Everyone should be able to live independently in their communities and maintain as much control over their lives as possible.”

Anyone interested in participating in the study can email Jane Waterhouse at j.waterhouse@auckland.ac.nz.