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What Elements of the Design of a Healing Garden Are Used as Landmarks by Patients With Alzheimer's Disease to Locate?

NCT01692977 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 77

Last updated 2015-07-30

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The disruption of spatial orientation is considered the second most common cognitive symptom of dementia, affecting nearly all activities of daily living. Research in the field of environmental psychology has helped to highlight the influence of the environment on patients with Alzheimer's disease or related syndromes. With regard to spatial orientation, it has been shown that an environment can provide support for cognitive failures in subjects if that particular space is adapted. While numerous studies have focused on the architectural environment (hospital, housing facility), none have explored the ability of patients to orient themselves in a natural environment such as a garden. Yet, in recent years, such gardens, known as healing gardens, have emerged in housing and care facilities, providing genuine support for the care management of patients with Alzheimer-type dementia. Various works have been published outlining recommendations for their management. However, with regard to spatial orientation, none of the available research has explored the basic principles on which to rely on in order to organize the elements of outdoor spaces into itineraries that promote orientation, according to ZEISEL and TYSON (1999). In the absence of such data, these authors recommend relying on five elements, identified by Lynch in his landmark book "Image of the City" (1960), that people use to orient themselves and find their way. These are " paths ", " edges ", " districts ", " nodes " and " landmarks ". The hypothesis to verify is that patients with Alzheimer's disease do not rely on the same elements of the garden as non-Alzheimer's subjects in making orientation decisions and to mentally picture this environment.

Conditions

  • Alzheimer Disease

Interventions

OTHER

neuropsychological assessment

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Central Hospital, Nancy, France

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Thérèse Rivasseau Jonveaux, PhD · University Hospital of Nancy, France

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
65 Years
Max Age
90 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2012-08-31
Primary Completion
2014-10-31
Completion
2014-10-31

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01692977 on ClinicalTrials.gov