Dementia-friendly care home environments

This study will explore how changes to the physical environment of care homes can improve life for residents with dementia – especially their independence and ability to stay engaged. 

We’ll look at existing research to understand what kinds of environmental modifications have been tried, what they involve, and how they help. We’ll also examine what makes these changes easier or harder to implement – from small-scale practical issues to wider organisational and policy challenges. Finally, we’ll identify gaps in the evidence to help shape a future research project. 

• Research aims

  This research aims to answer the following question:

  • What interventions and modifications to the physical environment of care homes impact on the quality of life of residents living with dementia? 

• What we'll do

  We’re carrying out a scoping review to explore how care home environments can be improved for people living with dementia. The aim is to gather useful, transferable insights that organisations can use to make physical spaces more supportive, engaging, and dementia-friendly.

  We’ll look at a wide range of studies to understand what kinds of environmental changes have been made, and how they help. Our team includes researchers, an information specialist, and people with lived and professional experience of care homes. We’ll meet regularly to guide the review and make sure it reflects real-world needs.

  We’ll follow a structured five-step process to identify, select, and summarise the evidence. A protocol will be published on the Open Science Framework to ensure transparency.