Research On Public Space Of Dementia Care Unit In Elderly Facilities

Under the background of global aging,the aging process of Chinese society is gradually accelerating.Dementia has become the “number one killer” of elderly health,and China has become the country with the largest number of people suffering from dementia.The recent advancement of the concept of “dementia” and “cognitive disorder” in place of “Alzheimer's disease” has gradually attracted academic attention.However,the society has not paid enough attention to the living conditions and pension conditions of the demented groups.In particular,the number of pension institutions that can receive the demented elderly is very limited and there are few pension institutions that can provide demented care units for the demented elderly.Due to the special physiological and psychological characteristics of the demented elderly,there is also a higher demand for architectural space.Public space,as the main place of activity for the demented elderly besides their living room in institutional pension,plays a vital role in ensuring the quality of life of the elderly.Therefore,this paper attempts to study the public space of the demented care unit in the old-age care institution,and also explore how the public space can meet the physiological,psychological and behavioral needs of the demented elderly there.First of all,through the literature research,the author summarizes the development status and experience of the nursing care for the elderly with dementia as well as the research on the space of dementia care at home and abroad,then clarifies the related concepts.Furthermore,on the basis of this,the author carries out on-the-spot investigation and conducts the resultant statistics,comparison and analysis,which are mainly divided into three parts.Firstly,by observing and summarizing the types and characteristics of the activities of the demented elderly and further combining with the theoretical characteristics of the demented elderly,this paper concludes the “reactive demand” of the mental,physiological and behavioral needs of the demented elderly for public space.Secondly,through the analysis of the space composition,spatial allocation and specific configuration elements of the demented care units in five elderly facilities,certain current problems are figured out,and the influencing factors are analyzed in combination with the utilization methods.Thirdly,according to the observation of the use of public space by the demented elderly,a comparative analysis of the relationship between the use rate of public space and the behavior and space of demented elderly is conducted.Finally,in view of the above research,combined with the design principles put forward by foreign countries,the principles of public space design for demented care units and the design points of corresponding behavioral activities are summarized.Also,some spatial optimization suggestions are proposed.This paper mainly adopts the behavior tracking observation method and behavior map observation method,which play a key role in the analysis and conclusion of behavior.Moreover,some conclusions are drawn,which endeavors to provide valuable ideas and references for the research of the demented care unit,especially in public space.