Multisensory

Installations in
Residential Aged-Care
Facilities
Increasing Novelty and Encouraging Social
Engagement Through Modest
Environmental Changes

Background

> 1970s

Snoezelen Rooms

>

A therapy for those with learning disabilities.

Worked by placing people in a soothing and stimulating - calming environment.

Multi-Sensory Stimulation
provide

special environments for people with a variety of disabilities, disorders and

conditions including dementia, autism, intellectual disability, brain injury, chronic pain, and for
those in palliative care.
designed

to create a stimulating and yet calming atmosphere.

Common types of multi-sensory rooms

> white room, dark room, sound room, interactive room, water room, and soft play
room.

How does it work?

Bubble tubes/columns

special lighting with a projector to cast slow-moving images or colours around

the walls.

a mirror ball with spotlight

Fiber optic lighting

lamps, music or sound equipment and aromatherapy materials.

A variety of tactile items can be provided, such as cushions and vibrating pillows,
as well as special hanging chairs and massage chairs.

Activity walls can be custom built to provide a range of tactile, as well as

electronic audio-visual stimulation.

Panels with a variety of textures such as rough surfaces, stiff bristles, smooth or
contoured mirrors, beads, or soft and squishy items are often also included.

Ideas and Approach

provide stimulation, and yet be calming.

"failure-free" experience.

help the user of the room to gain maximum pleasure from the sensory activity
they are involved in.

generally non-directive

Multi-Sensory Environment should be client-focused

the experience of the room will be highly individualised.

Evidence-Based Practice

The proximate visual environment has a profound effect on individuals

psychological and physiological well being (Dijkstra,Pieterse and Pruy,2006;Ulrich,
1995).

Dijkstra et al. (2006) found that health care environments could be transformed
into psychologically healing environment through incorporation of certain
environmental stimuli like specific colour, sounds, odours and seating, and the
inclusion of natural features like plants.

Aesthetically pleasing environment = improved mood and well-being for residents

and staff of aged care facilities.

The focus of the study was to examine the effect of making positive changes to
the indoor environment of aged-care facilities specifically nature-based and
reminiscence based environmental enhancements of the well-being of residents
and staff.

Social Engagement and Psychological Health

Social and emotional connections with staff and other residents are vitally
important for the well-being of older adults living in long-term care facilities
(Baltes, 1996; Park, 2007;Streets,Burge,Quadagno & Barrett ,2007).

To counter the isolation that is often experienced within aged-care facilities

where the inclination is to retreat into the private space of ones own room
(Hauge & Heggen, 2007), it is important to provide opportunities for
interaction with other residents (Knight,Haslam & Haslam, 2010). By providing
a shared interest or activity, opportunity exists for residents to interact,
establish new friendships and obtain the critical social support necessary for
successful adjustment to living within aged-care facility. (Park,
Zimmerman,Kinslow,Shin & Roff, 2012).

Reminiscence as a Therapeutic Tool

Reminiscence Therapy is an effective tool used with older adults to enhance

psychological well-being (Pinquart & Forstmeier, 2012).

It can be a structured therapy such as life review which focuses on individuals

life events ((Pinquart & Forstmeier, 2012).

In one study, collective recollection of the past resulted in an improvement in

general cognitive ability and increased social identification among residents
(Haslam et al.,2010)

Horticulture as a Therapeutic Tool

Horticulture therapy has also been used in health care settings to positively
affect patient well-being.

Resident- centered gardening programs provide activity that encourages

socialization through a shared appreciation of the aesthetics of nature
(Brown, Allen, Dwozan, Mercer, & Warren, 2004).

Gardens and their natural elements stimulate the senses and encourage social
interaction through mutual admiration of the associated sights and smells, as
well as through shared recollections of favourite plants or past gardens.

Garden and their elements have broad appeal to residents because they
provide a link to the past: plants can evoke memories of childhood gardens
or a favourite childhood tree (Heliker, Chadwick, & OConnell, 2001).

Hypothesis

On the basis of biophilia theory (instinctive bond between human beings and
other living systems)