title: The physical environment of the person with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: A conceptual structure based on a set of 11 universal human needs is used as the basis for organizing a view of research methods appropriate to designing environments for people with dementia. The advantages and disadvantages of four general approaches are discussed: consumer surveys, direct behavior observation, expert judgments, and experimental designs. All are found wanting, though clearly worth pursuing. Systematic qualitative observational methods are suggested as a mode for generating and organizing user-friendly data for designing environments for people with dementia.
authors.affiliation: Polisher Research Institute, Philadelphia Geriatric Center, PA, USA.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Lawton
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D004779:Environment Design; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D012931:Social Environment