Orientation behaviors in residents relocated to a redesigned dementia care unit

This descriptive study took advantage of a scheduled environmental renovation in a secured dementia care unit. A convenience sample of 19 residents who were relocated to the unit completed a performance-based orientation task involving locating their own room. The study included a brief structured interview and tests of psychological function (cognition, depression, and visual-spatial ability) two months after admission. Intrusions (uninvited entry into another resident's room) were tracked for one week. Eighty-four percent of participants were able to find their own rooms during the orientation task. The majority of participants reported use of color (n = 13) and structure (n = 12) as cues for locating their rooms. Thirty-eight percent of those who could find their own rooms also intruded into others' rooms; these intrusions were most commonly related to seeking social interaction. The results attest to the importance of understanding the multiple factors that determine environmental use in this population.