Dementia signage and visual aids are crucial within care homes

For adults experiencing memory loss, the ability of the brain to remain visually engaged with interior surroundings is well documented as being crucial for enhancing daily living potential.

As outlined by University of Stirling research, “The care environment can be made more supportive and enabling with quite simple additions. The first is to make sure that what is important is highly visible.”

Nostalgic advertising

Inspired to make such an impact by drawing upon their strong company heritage, the worldwide-recognised food brand Nestlé has produced a range of reminiscence packs as an example of how care environments can be enhanced to inspire memory and nostalgia.

Compelled by voices within the care sector, the company has teamed up with the Alzheimer’s Society and produced a range of prints that will remind many older people of past decades.

Spokesman James Maxton explains: “The project was sparked by a flurry of queries into our Consumer Services team from carers and care groups requesting old images and packs as they may help revive positive recollections from the long-term memory. We decided to create an online pack which can be printed out free of charge.

“Interest in these pictures has gone from strength to strength, with Nestle feeling pressed to make further contributions with additional ranges.”

Mr Maxton continues, “Since the launch, we have had some fantastic feedback and we continue to build on it. Already we’ve added a new Easter pack and will be doing the same for Christmas. We’re always keen to share the contents of the Nestlé UK archive with as wide an audience as possible and we are delighted to use some of our favourite artefacts to produce this.”

Carebase Ltd is one provider to have embraced the potential of the Nestlé range, with the hope that the packs will soon be available on a wider scale as the number of adults in the UK with dementia reaches 800,000. Other interested providers can download the pack here: www.nestle.co.uk/aboutus/history/reminiscence-pack

Applying signage

As well as embracing nostalgia, the informative nature of a person’s surroundings are also crucial for helping those with memory loss live a less stressful daily life.

Clever use of signage can help those with declining cognitive ability to make the right decisions when finding their way around an interior, as well as feeling informed and aware of where they are.

Living aid company stress the importance of this approach, with director Peter Rose pointing out that the primary focus needs to be information rather than design if the individual with dementia is really to benefit.

He explains: “The value of effective signage has been lost in modern environments. The emphasis has been placed on using ‘fashionable’ materials and typefaces rather than making sure the sign actually works!

“Then there are the ambiguous symbols we use!” e.g.

“Ok, these aren’t everyday examples, but they illustrate where ‘design’ crosses a boundary where the sign no longer communicates its meaning as well as it should.”

There is a tendency to guess or suppose that if an interior appears pleasant it is therefore helpful to residents, but Mr Rose warns against presumption and urges care homes to be well informed on the value of symbols and how they should be applied.

He continues: “When we design a sign the primary objective is to ensure each element is just right, so we use a specific type-face and never use block capitals except for an initial letter. Colours must have a strong contrast. We make the sign as large as we can. Images must be photographic , realistic and not abstract. The surface must be non-reflective. Each design is a unique shape so it can be recognised by touch for people with impaired vision. Finally, as the signs must be mounted at eye-level, they are tactile, secure, very durable and suitable for cleaning with all manner of chemical cleaners.

“Failing to incorporate any of these features can prove a costly compromise.”

University studies

There is now a growing depth of university research on the lives of adults with dementia, which care services should be drawing upon these days if they can claim to be up-to-date with modern capabilities and innovations.

Find Dementia Signage would not have been possible without the availability of such expertise and the company drew up its first designs based on principles set out by the academic findings of Stirling University and particularly Bob Woods of the University of Bangor.

Dementia research at Stirling confirms that: ““Signs can be very helpful if they are clear, mounted low enough, have words and a picture and contrast with the background. Signs can be directional with a finger or arrow showing where to go, or can be on the door of the room. Large analogue clocks are important.”

Mr Rose concludes: “Today, with over 250,000 signs sold in the UK alone, we know our designs make a real difference to how people manage their lives in care homes and hospitals.

“As one of our clients once commented so succinctly ‘you don’t have to think, they just tell you’ – job done.”

Visual aids

Alison Cook, director of external affairs at Alzheimer’s Society, points out that other everyday objects can also have great value, saying: “Even something as simple as an old sweet wrapper can bring back vivid memories from a happy time. This activity helps carers and loved ones to engage with people with dementia in a positive way, and has the potential to improve the quality of life for the 800,000 living with dementia in the UK”.

Specialist signage company also notes the benefits of visual help: “Visual aids are also commonly used in presentations as a method of increasing retention of information and increasing engagement with the information presented. This idea is the same as using signage or visual aids in the home of an AD (Alzheimer’s/Dementia) sufferer to improve their visual memory, so as to allow them to complete the task at hand. This could be finding the correct medication or in more severe cases finding the bathroom for example. Visual aids can also be used to stimulate the memory of patients which can help to reduce the cognitive decline which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Visual aids also help to reduce stress and frustration, which can be associated with AD patients losing their orientation or not being able to perform a task due to forgetting what specifically they were trying to accomplish. By utilising visual aids, this psychological distress can be reduced giving the patients a greater sense of control.”

Images courtesy of Nestlé