Chalmers Conferences, ARCH12

Post-occupancy evaluation of small-scale group-living in larger scale nursing homes
Pauline Mourits

Last modified: 2014-09-11

Abstract


Long term, institutional care in the Netherlands is increasingly organised in small-scale homelike care concepts. Ideally, a group-living home is located in an archetypical house and both the physical environment and the care offered combine to create a homelike setting. Nursing home administrators often choose to realize group-living home care within larger scale nursing homes because of cost effectiveness and the ease with which indoor facilities can be provided. Studies investigating small-scale living facilities have mainly focused on its effects compared to traditional nursing homes. However, little research has been done on the experiences with small-scale group-living in larger scale nursing homes and the design of these new care settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the physical environment was experienced by residents, family members of residents, and staff, in nursing homes where small scale group-living care is provided. A post-occupancy evaluation of two nursing homes was undertaken, using interviews with management, floor plan analyses, document studies, and a questionnaire survey among residents, their family members, and staff. Results indicate that the grand café in both nursing homes is highly valued by residents, family of residents and staff. However, although the users value the group homes within the nursing homes, there were concerns about the design and layout of the buildings. In order to combine the advantages of small-scale group-living and larger scale nursing homes, the emphasis during the building process should be on a homelike character for residents with dementia and more privacy for residents with chronic diseases and disabilities. Within the context of this study, post-occupancy evaluation appears to be a useful instrument to gather valuable information from, sometimes frail, users of healthcare facilities to inform future design decisions.

Keywords


architecture; group-living; nursing home; physical environment; post-occupancy evaluation; small-scale care environments

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