Presentation
HE8 - Designing Interactive and Intergenerational Outdoor Spaces in Long-Term Care Settings
SessionPoster Session 2
DescriptionBackground
Older adults in Canadian long-term care (LTC) homes face loneliness and social isolation due to a lack of meaningful interaction. As health care improves and life expectancy increases, more Canadians with comorbidities seek care in LTC homes, and often become disconnected from their social networks.
Access to the outdoors offers significant health benefits. Moving to LTC can drastically reduce individuals’ contact with nature, whereas, gardening and outdoor activities can provide meaningful opportunities to re-engage with the outdoors and improve overall well-being.
Intergenerational interaction can be another valuable way to decrease loneliness for older adults. Whether through having students visit care homes or other means, interacting with younger generations can create mutual learning, support, and social integration. Outdoor gardens designed for multi-generational engagement are optimal places to facilitate these types of activities.
Despite the benefits of outdoor spaces and the interactions they can facilitate, prior studies have shown that the outdoor spaces of LTC homes are often underused. Further, real-life projects face limitations such as resources, time and space constraints, which can hinder achieving ‘ideal’ outdoor and garden designs. LTC homes are particularly vulnerable to such considerations.
A participatory action research (PAR) design can help target these challenge areas by gathering input from ‘actors’ who will be using the future space to co-create a design proposal that aligns with their priorities, intended use and feasibility to implement and maintain. For LTC homes experiencing challenges collecting the evidence or producing validated design concepts that are necessary to obtain funding, strategic design can provide support. It offers a means to create a design proposal that demonstrates purpose, value, and credibility to funding organizations. A PAR approach can be especially effective as it combines the knowledge of LTC homes, surrounding communities, and design experts can be combined to achieve the desired collective outcomes and impact.
This research project seeks to create an evidence-based framework, followed by design concepts that will inform future planning of an accessible and interactive intergenerational space at Saint-Louis Long-Term Care (LTC) in the Bruyère Health Village (BHV) in Ottawa. Following a presentation on the role of design in recreational therapy in LTC (Design Considerations in Enhancing Recreational Therapy in Long-Term Care - Literature Review) led by the primary researcher to various Ontario LTC homes, Saint-Louis LTC reached out to create a partnership to redesign their outdoor spaces for activities such as horticulture therapy and intergenerational programming. The goal is to improve the quality of life of LTC home residents/tenants and engage families, staff, as well as the community through the rethinking and redesign of their outdoor space. This project will serve as a case study to inform a broader design framework, grounded in strategic design, for designing outdoor spaces in LTC settings.
Methods and Participants
A participatory action research (PAR) design approach will facilitate a collaborative understanding of the context, gaps/opportunities and development of an experience/evidence-based design framework and proposal for the Saint-Louis LTC outdoor space. There are 5 participant groups in this study: 1) Saint-Louis LTC residents 2) neighbouring BHV tenants, 3) care partners of residents, 4) BHV staff, and 5) staff of local schools seeking to develop intergenerational partnerships.
As a starting point, the primary researcher has been conducting site visits and attending on-site events to observe ways the space is currently being used. This included mapping out and assessing the current condition, size, and features of the available outdoor space. The evaluation also includes examining environmental factors such as sunlight, shade, soil quality, and existing vegetation.
A concurrent literature review was conducted to analyse existing considerations proposed for the design of therapeutic gardens and outdoor spaces in LTC. The themes identified to facilitate engagement included: accessibility and safety, sensory stimulation, social factors, amenities for activities, sustainability principles, maintenance, and inclusivity.
Data gathering will begin by facilitating structured group discussions, happening both in-person and virtually, with each of the 5 key groups. The focus groups will help to better understand their needs, preferences, and expectations for the garden space, as well as current limitations. The questions inquire about the types of activities participants enjoy outside, their experience being in the current space, features that would draw them towards the space, accessibility factors, seating preferences, and ideas for the various seasons. For staff, further questions ask about patterns observed in space usage, the ways the space can be integrated into current and future activity/therapeutic programming, and ways that maintenance can be minimized through collective initiatives.
Intergenerational design is a key goal of the project. For this reason, we are also reaching out to nearby schools within Saint Louis LTC's existing network to discuss with staff potential opportunities for the outdoor space to host intergenerational programs, such as joint gardening, as well as the ways that the space can support school curriculums in the construction and upkeep phases (for example, constructing garden beds, composting, etc.).
The results of the focus groups will be presented at this conference, as well as how they are informing the next step: co-design workshops.
Next Steps
We will conduct in-person design workshops at the Saint-Louis LTC and BHV site with all participant groups together to gather input and collaborate on components of the proposed design. The input from the focus groups will be used to inform the design of the design workshops (e.g., identifying areas of the outdoor space that are most important to individuals to develop probes/activities they can work on in the co-design session). Eventually, these co-design session results will evolve into a final proposed site map of the re-designed space, design recommendations, and perhaps specific design details/requirements of importance (e.g., ergonomic features).
Our team will use all the input, idea generation, and concept development from the data collection phase to create a design proposal for the redesign of the Saint-Louis LTC outdoor space. This may involve creating a 2D masterplan and 3D digital model of the proposed design.
Older adults in Canadian long-term care (LTC) homes face loneliness and social isolation due to a lack of meaningful interaction. As health care improves and life expectancy increases, more Canadians with comorbidities seek care in LTC homes, and often become disconnected from their social networks.
Access to the outdoors offers significant health benefits. Moving to LTC can drastically reduce individuals’ contact with nature, whereas, gardening and outdoor activities can provide meaningful opportunities to re-engage with the outdoors and improve overall well-being.
Intergenerational interaction can be another valuable way to decrease loneliness for older adults. Whether through having students visit care homes or other means, interacting with younger generations can create mutual learning, support, and social integration. Outdoor gardens designed for multi-generational engagement are optimal places to facilitate these types of activities.
Despite the benefits of outdoor spaces and the interactions they can facilitate, prior studies have shown that the outdoor spaces of LTC homes are often underused. Further, real-life projects face limitations such as resources, time and space constraints, which can hinder achieving ‘ideal’ outdoor and garden designs. LTC homes are particularly vulnerable to such considerations.
A participatory action research (PAR) design can help target these challenge areas by gathering input from ‘actors’ who will be using the future space to co-create a design proposal that aligns with their priorities, intended use and feasibility to implement and maintain. For LTC homes experiencing challenges collecting the evidence or producing validated design concepts that are necessary to obtain funding, strategic design can provide support. It offers a means to create a design proposal that demonstrates purpose, value, and credibility to funding organizations. A PAR approach can be especially effective as it combines the knowledge of LTC homes, surrounding communities, and design experts can be combined to achieve the desired collective outcomes and impact.
This research project seeks to create an evidence-based framework, followed by design concepts that will inform future planning of an accessible and interactive intergenerational space at Saint-Louis Long-Term Care (LTC) in the Bruyère Health Village (BHV) in Ottawa. Following a presentation on the role of design in recreational therapy in LTC (Design Considerations in Enhancing Recreational Therapy in Long-Term Care - Literature Review) led by the primary researcher to various Ontario LTC homes, Saint-Louis LTC reached out to create a partnership to redesign their outdoor spaces for activities such as horticulture therapy and intergenerational programming. The goal is to improve the quality of life of LTC home residents/tenants and engage families, staff, as well as the community through the rethinking and redesign of their outdoor space. This project will serve as a case study to inform a broader design framework, grounded in strategic design, for designing outdoor spaces in LTC settings.
Methods and Participants
A participatory action research (PAR) design approach will facilitate a collaborative understanding of the context, gaps/opportunities and development of an experience/evidence-based design framework and proposal for the Saint-Louis LTC outdoor space. There are 5 participant groups in this study: 1) Saint-Louis LTC residents 2) neighbouring BHV tenants, 3) care partners of residents, 4) BHV staff, and 5) staff of local schools seeking to develop intergenerational partnerships.
As a starting point, the primary researcher has been conducting site visits and attending on-site events to observe ways the space is currently being used. This included mapping out and assessing the current condition, size, and features of the available outdoor space. The evaluation also includes examining environmental factors such as sunlight, shade, soil quality, and existing vegetation.
A concurrent literature review was conducted to analyse existing considerations proposed for the design of therapeutic gardens and outdoor spaces in LTC. The themes identified to facilitate engagement included: accessibility and safety, sensory stimulation, social factors, amenities for activities, sustainability principles, maintenance, and inclusivity.
Data gathering will begin by facilitating structured group discussions, happening both in-person and virtually, with each of the 5 key groups. The focus groups will help to better understand their needs, preferences, and expectations for the garden space, as well as current limitations. The questions inquire about the types of activities participants enjoy outside, their experience being in the current space, features that would draw them towards the space, accessibility factors, seating preferences, and ideas for the various seasons. For staff, further questions ask about patterns observed in space usage, the ways the space can be integrated into current and future activity/therapeutic programming, and ways that maintenance can be minimized through collective initiatives.
Intergenerational design is a key goal of the project. For this reason, we are also reaching out to nearby schools within Saint Louis LTC's existing network to discuss with staff potential opportunities for the outdoor space to host intergenerational programs, such as joint gardening, as well as the ways that the space can support school curriculums in the construction and upkeep phases (for example, constructing garden beds, composting, etc.).
The results of the focus groups will be presented at this conference, as well as how they are informing the next step: co-design workshops.
Next Steps
We will conduct in-person design workshops at the Saint-Louis LTC and BHV site with all participant groups together to gather input and collaborate on components of the proposed design. The input from the focus groups will be used to inform the design of the design workshops (e.g., identifying areas of the outdoor space that are most important to individuals to develop probes/activities they can work on in the co-design session). Eventually, these co-design session results will evolve into a final proposed site map of the re-designed space, design recommendations, and perhaps specific design details/requirements of importance (e.g., ergonomic features).
Our team will use all the input, idea generation, and concept development from the data collection phase to create a design proposal for the redesign of the Saint-Louis LTC outdoor space. This may involve creating a 2D masterplan and 3D digital model of the proposed design.
Event Type
Poster Presentation
TimeTuesday, April 14:45pm - 6:15pm EDT
LocationFrontenac Foyer