Designing for everyone: can the principles of dementia-friendly design inform design for neurodiversity in health-care settings?
Abstract
Purpose
There is increasing interest in the UK in developing environments that support people who are neurodiverse. This paper aims to report on a project to develop a cognitively supportive environmental assessment tool to improve the design of health centres, where the majority of National Health Service consultations take place, for all users, including people living with dementia and those who are neurodiverse.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-stage process was used: a literature review; the development of a matrix of key design features for people living with dementia, autism and other neurodiverse conditions; and the development of an environmental assessment tool and guide for users, which included easy-to-read versions to maximise service user involvement.
Findings
The overarching concepts of dementia-friendly design can be adapted to create designs for everyone, including those who are neurodiverse.
Research limitations/implications
There is a paucity of research in environmental design for primary care from the patient’s perspective, and, more generally, further research on design for adults with learning disabilities and autism is needed.
Practical implications
The tools are free to download. With adaptation, they have potential applicability across health and care settings.
Originality/value
This project has confirmed that the principles of dementia-friendly design are applicable, with modifications, to a wider group of neurodiverse people. Critically, each person’s response to sensory stimuli is individual rather than determined by their condition.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Assura plc.
This paper presents independent research funded by Assura plc. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding organisation. The authors would like to acknowledge and thank staff and service users from Assura plc and Dimensions UK for their invaluable contributed to this research through helping to pilot and refine these assessment tools.
Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.
Citation
Waller, S., Evans, S.C., Bray, J. and Atkinson, T. (2024), "Designing for everyone: can the principles of dementia-friendly design inform design for neurodiversity in health-care settings?", Working with Older People, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/WWOP-09-2023-0038
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited