title: Validation of the Environmental Audit Tool in both purpose-built and non-purpose-built dementia care settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide further validation of the Environmental Audit Tool (EAT) by describing data on scores from 56 facilities and comparing the scores of facilities with a purpose-built dementia environment with those with non-purpose-built designs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-six facilities were assessed with the EAT. EAT scores for 24 purpose-built environments were compared with 32 non-purpose-built environments using a Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Descriptive data on EAT scores are presented across all facilities. Facilities scored well on safety/security, familiarity, highlighting useful stimuli and privacy. Purpose-built unit scores were significantly higher than those for non-purpose-built environments for nine of 10 subscales of the EAT and the overall EAT score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The EAT can assess the quality of homelike environments in residential aged care facilities for people with dementia, differentiate between the quality of design in various types of facilities and provide an evidence basis for devising improvements.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ronald.smith@sydney.edu.au
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chenoweth
authors.forename: Yun-Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stein-Parbury
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brodaty
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing*; D004779:Environment Design; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D011786:Quality Control; D011788:Quality of Life; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires