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Symposium

Behavioral and Social Sciences

Place and Aging With Dementia: New Assessments for Person-Environment Processes

Wednesday, November 13, 2024
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PST
Location: Room 619
CE: 1.5

There has been growth in research addressing stability and change in the relationship between the physical environment and older persons, particularly people living with dementia. However, differentiated assessments to examine or measure person-environment relationships are limited. Additionally, there is a lack of resources to inform development of physical environments supportive of people living with dementia. This symposium addresses creative measures, and application strategies to advance understanding of the role of place for people living with dementia. First, Florack and colleagues present a three-step modification of the Meaning of Home Questionnaire (MoH) for use with people living with dementia by means of simplification and addition of specific items, an initial evaluation of psychometric characteristics, and the development of a final version and its validation. Second, Niedoba and Oswald present findings from walking interviews with people living with dementia, highlighting that these interviews allow to observe and discuss everyday life person-environment processes and provide a comfortable atmosphere promoting personal reflections on the experience of living with dementia. Third, Margot-Cattin and Gaber provide evidence from the Participation in ACTivities and Places OUTside Home (ACT-OUT) questionnaire based on a transactional perspective of the person-environment relationship, showing that people with dementia experience a higher rate of abandonment of places than people without dementia. Four, Chaudhury and colleagues introduce three knowledge mobilization resources that can inform and engage with various stakeholders, including municipalities, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, planning and design professionals, persons living with dementia and care partners. Finally, Wahl serves as the session’s discussant.

Learning Objectives:

  • After attending this session, participants will be able to understand emergent methodological challenges and opportunities in development of assessments for person-place relationships for people living with dementia.
  • After attending this session, participants will be able to develop a critical understanding of relationships between place and aging in the experience of dementia.
  • After attending this session, participants will be able to consider and appreciate the application of knowledge for informing policy to develop environments supportive of people living with dementia.

Presentations:

  • 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PST
    Knowledge Mobilization to Develop Dementia-Inclusive Communities in the DemSCAPE Project

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Habib Chaudhury, PhD, FGSA (he/him/his) – Simon Fraser University

  • 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PST
    Adapting the Meaning of Home Questionnaire for People With Dementia

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Janina Florack, MSc (she/her/hers) – University of Siegen

  • 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PST
    Transitions Into Dementia: Reflections on Walking Interviews and the Photo-Elicitation Method in Dementia Studies

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Simone Niedoba, M.Sc. (she/her/hers) – Goethe University Frankfurt

  • 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PST
    Using the ACT-OUT Questionnaire to Inform on Community Mobility and Participation for People Living With Dementia

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Isabel Margot-Cattin, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO)