Exploring Environmental Variation in Residential Care Facilities for Older People
Journal article, 2017

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore variation in environmental quality in Swedish residential care facilities (RCFs) using the Swedish version of the Sheffield Care Environment Assessment Matrix (S-SCEAM). Background: Well-designed physical environments can positively impact on health and well-being among older persons with frail health living in RCFs and are essential for supporting person-centered care. However, the evidence base for informing the design of RCFs is weak, partly due to a lack of valid and reliable instruments that could provide important information on the environmental quality. Methods: Twenty RCFs were purposively sampled from several regions, varying in their building design, year of construction, size, and geographic location. The RCFs were assessed using S-SCEAM and the data were analyzed to examine variation in environmental quality between and within facilities. Results: There was substantial variation in the quality of the physical environment between and within RCFs, reflected in S-SCEAM scores related to specific facility locations and with regard to domains reflecting residents’ needs. In general, private apartments and dining areas had high S-SCEAM scores, while gardens had lower scores. Scores on the safety domain were high in the majority of RCFs, whereas scores for cognitive support and privacy were relatively low. Conclusions: Despite high building standard requirements, the substantial variations regarding environmental quality between and within RCFs indicate the potential for improvements to support the needs of older persons. We conclude that S-SCEAM is a sensitive and unique instrument representing a valuable contribution to evidence-based design that can support person-centered care.

person-centered care

long-term care facility

older people

assessment

physical environment

Author

Susanna Nordin

Dalarna university

Karolinska Institutet

Kevin KcKee

Dalarna university

Helle Wijk

University of Gothenburg

Marie Elf

Chalmers, Architecture

Chalmers, Architecture, Building Design

HERD

1937-5867 (ISSN) 21675112 (eISSN)

Vol. 10 2 49-65

Subject Categories

Other Health Sciences

DOI

10.1177/1937586716648703

More information

Latest update

11/14/2023