An exploration of occupation in nursing home residents with dementia

Objectives: This study evaluated the sitting room environment of two nursing homesin Ireland, using interactive occupation and social engagement as outcome measuresand defining these rooms as occupational spaces.Method: Snapshot observational recordings were made in the main sitting roomsduring the periods of time when the rooms were in most active use. Narrativeinformation was also recorded.Results: Residents were more likely to occupy their time in the main sitting roompassively, rather than in interactive occupation and social engagement. The nursinghome residents with dementia spent approximately 70% of their daily time in themain sitting room areas in states of occupational disengagement.Discussion: Additional insight is provided through pragmatic narrative descriptionsof the functioning of the main sitting room environment in terms of interactiveoccupation and social engagement.Relevance: The research study demonstrates a methodology for evaluating thesitting room areas of a care environment, using interactive occupation and socialengagement as outcome measures,which can be used for descriptive and comparativeinsights into the performance of care environments