Andrea Harman, concept developer for healthcare at manufacturer and developer of acoustic solutions, Saint Gobain Ecophon, considers the impact of good sound design on those with dementia in healthcare buildings and the difference it can make to patients, staff and visitors
More than 850,000 people in the UK have dementia and this figure is set to increase to over one million by 2025. An umbrella term for a collection of symptoms that result from damage to the brain, dementia can impact on a person’s memory, mobility, perception, communication and hearing.
There are many forms of dementia, with Alzheimer’s being the most common in the UK and Europe. While dementia is often linked to ageing, it not only affects the elderly; in fact, according to recent data, 40,000 people in the UK under the age of 65 have dementia.
Research carried out in care homes for the elderly on the link between building acoustics and a healthy internal environment has found that background noise, along with design elements relating to the light, colour, and layout of a space, can have a profound effect on those with dementia, making it vitally important to take these elements into consideration when making design choices.
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