Creating Culturally Appropriate Outside Spaces and Experiences for People with Dementia : Using Nature and the Outdoors in Person-Centred Care

Demonstrating that it is essential to be sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of people with dementia in order to provide truly person-centred care, this book shows that it is possible to create culturally appropriate outdoor spaces and experiences that resonate with people with dementia on a fundamental level and are a source of comfort and wellbeing. Contributors drawn from a variety of backgrounds describe the significance of nature in the lives of people with dementia from diverse cultures, faiths, traditions and geographical locations, providing helpful insights into how access to the natural world may be achieved within different care settings. There are contributions from the UK (Scottish island, urban North East England and Norfolk farming communities), Canada, Norway, Japan, Australia, Sudan and South Africa, as well as a chapter on the specific difficulty of providing access to nature for people with dementia in hospitals. The voices of people with dementia and their carers are prominent throughout, and the book also contains evocative poetry and photographs of people with dementia enjoying nature and the outdoors in different contexts. A rich source of information and ideas for all those interested in creating culturally appropriate outdoor spaces and experiences for people with dementia, including dementia care practitioners, especially those at managerial level, policy makers, commissioners and those involved in designing and commissioning buildings and services. Creating Culturally Appropriate Outside Spaces and Experiences for People with Dementia: Using Nature and the Outdoors in Person-Centred Care......Page 4 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Introduction: Why Do We Need to Understand Cultural Differences?......Page 11 1. A Family’s Perspective on Nature and Dementia: Using the Great Outdoors to Help the Inner Person......Page 28 2. Nature for People with Dementia in Japan: Some Examples of Horticultural Activities in Japanese Care Homes......Page 37 3. Getting Out and About in the British Countryside: Dementia Adventure......Page 47 On Aran......Page 59 4. Some Southern African Understandings of Nature......Page 61 5. Contact with the Natural World within Hospital Care......Page 70 6. How Norwegian People with Dementia Experience Nature......Page 81 7. How People with Dementia Experience Nature in Rural and Island Scottish Communities......Page 91 Taking to the Hills......Page 97 8. Digging Up the Roots: Nature and Dementia for First Nation Elders......Page 98 9. A Sense of Place: An Anthroposophic Approach......Page 107 10. Nature in the Lives of an Urban Population with Dementia in North East England......Page 121 11. Memories of an Urban Childhood with a Nearby Wood......Page 128 12. Dementia and Landscapes: Cultural Attitudes Towards Nature......Page 131 Conclusion: How Do We Make Outside Spaces Familiar and Life-affirming?......Page 141 References and Further Reading......Page 146 About the Editors......Page 150 About the Authors......Page 151 Subject Index......Page 154 Author Index......Page 161 Blank Page......Page 2