Using a quantitative measure of communicative environment to compare two psychogeriatric day care settings

The importance of the relationship between the physical and interpersonal environment and the maintenance and enhancement of communication in the ageing institutionalised population is well-documented in the literature. This study aimed to evaluate the communicative environment in two different day care settings for people with dementia by the recording and structuring of observations made of sampled conversations. The data collected were considered quantitatively in order to compare the two settings. The findings of the study can be applied to clinical and everyday practice, through the suggestion of practical ideas for physical and/or social environmental modification.