Book review
Title: Design for Nature in Dementia Care
Author: Garuth Chalfont
Year: 2007
Edition: 1
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley
ISBN: 9781843105718
Price: £19.99
Reviewer: Trish Hafford-Letchfield, Senior Lecturer of Social Work, Middlesex University
Review date: 02/12/2008
Table of contents and more information
A growing body of research demonstrates what can be positively provided to promote the quality of life and quality of care for people living with dementia. This is increasingly important in the context of personalisation and the governments’ current transformational agenda. This book offers an important contribution to excellence in research and education and is published by the Bradford Dementia Group. Dementia continues to be a much stigmatised condition within our society and this book challenges traditional views about what can be achieved to meet the needs of each individual in a carefully considered and personalised way. It is the culmination of extensive ethnographic and anthropological research undertaken by the author over a number of years. Chalfont takes a holistic approach in exploring how one might use spaces and nature in order to exploit the relationships between people with dementia and their environments. He encourages readers to use their imaginations and willingness to break with traditional approaches to care practice by making connections between the personal history of the individual concerned, their culture and the vital importance of providing emotional and sensory stimulation through nature. This results in a detailed examination of the therapeutic benefits of providing a range of opportunities for the person with dementia to engage with nature and the natural environment.
The book is presented in two parts; nature indoors and nature outdoors. Part one has three chapters devoted to issues around what it means to engage with nature and promoting nature-based activities providing numerous examples of what can be done to encourage interaction with nature indoors. Part two comprises of four chapters focussing on outdoor activities. It considers the individual’s potential to increase their experiences of pleasure, enjoyment and well being through encouraging both visual and physical contact with gardens, plants and animals. All of these are explored as vehicles for social interaction, reflection and reminiscence supported by case studies from Chalfont’s own research. Each chapter summarises key points from three different perspectives; the person with dementia; the social environment and the physical environment. It is grounded in realism with plenty of practical tips. Chalfont does not skirt around ethical issues such as safety and risk which when not properly considered can stifle innovations within institutionalised care practice.
Readers are helped to understand connections between dementia research and environmental design. This is unfamiliar territory for social workers. There are powerful messages within the book about the subtle protection and hiding away of people living with dementia from their natural communities. I found the discussion on the importance of walking and exercise as a basic human right particularly revealing. Illustrated with line drawings and boxed research summaries, the simplicity of this book belies its important messages “and therein lies the potential for beauty” (p. 155).
I wholeheartedly recommend this text to tutors and students who are exploring the impact of dementia in their interactions with service users and their networks. It would be good on a reading list for pre-qualifying students in practice learning settings with older people, either in assessment or provider services, particularly in dementia care. Some of the concepts described above could be used as stimulus material in seminar groups. I will suggest this as additional reading for students following any modules on adult social work who are working in older people’s mental health, and particularly for those following Post Qualifying awards, as it would stretch practitioners’ knowledge and creativity.
