Effects of Visual Cues and Education for People Who Live Within Long Term Care Communities to Assist in Wayfinding

Summary

The ability to find one's way in the world is known as wayfinding. Many older adults who live in senior communities, such as independent living and assisted living residences, find wayfinding very challenging. Often times, these communities are not designed in a way that helps people find their way very easily. When people cannot find their way, they can get lost, be dependent upon others for getting out and about, or even be afraid to leave their rooms. The purpose of this study is to find out if distinctive signs and decorative elements, along with a special type of education called Spaced-Retrieval education, help residents in these communities find their way more effectively. Twelve senior communities will be assigned by chance to one of three conditions, including: 1) control - no change (the community stays the same); 2) signs and decorative elements enhanced; and 3) signs, decorative elements, and special education added. After agreeing to be in the study, the participants will be asked to find their way to certain places in their community four times over a year. Some people will be asked to participate in educational sessions on wayfinding. In addition, some people will be asked to wear a location tracker, (like a fitness tracker), for four weeks during the year. How well people find their way, along with how much they travel about within the communities, will be compared between the three groups. It is hypothesized that those in the communities with special signs and decorative elements will find their way more effectively than those in the control communities. It is also hypothesized that participants in the communities with the special education intervention will find their way better than those without the education. Finally, it is hypothesized that participants in the communities with signs and cues and education will travel about further distances than those in the control communities. The results of the study can help people who have a tendency to get lost find their way more effectively in their community, and this could result in more independence.

Conditions

• Alzheimer Disease
• Alzheimer Dementia
• Age-Related Memory Disorders
• Dementia

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Salient Cues

Salient cues are those that capture the individual's attention. Information that is complex, novel, and difficult to identify takes more processing resources than those that are simple and familiar. Cues such as pictures and wall hangings, along with bright and meaningful signs, will be placed at key decision points within the senior communities.

BEHAVIORAL

Spaced Retrieval Education

Spaced Retrieval (SR) is an evidence-based memory strategy that is used to teach individuals with memory loss new or previously known information. In this study, participants in Arm 3 will receive twelve 30-minute educational sessions to help them use the salient cues to find their way.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Michigan State University

  collaborator OTHER

• Grand Valley State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Rebecca Davis, PhD · Grand Valley State University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

62 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-06-12

Primary Completion

2023-08-30

Completion

2023-10-23

Countries

• United States

Study Locations