Care & cure: reducing cognitive decline among elderly patients in healthcare settings by way of caring architectural principles

Abstract

In hospitals, cognitive decline in patients 65 years and older is common which affects their entire wellbeing and recovery process. How can architecture uphold responsibility with the same gravity as the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm” for geriatric patients’ well-being to promote spaces for recovery while diminishing prolonged acute care side effects, ensuring that cognitive decline is reduced among this vulnerable population? The creation of an Integrative Geriatric Centre in Sudbury Ontario, Canada which contains a geriatric assessment clinic, a geriatric recovery centre, and an integrated childcare facility will provide betterment for seniors. These programmatic elements will use the ideologies of positive distraction in intergenerational settings; biophilic design; and a framework for senior friendly hospital design. These principles will help reduce cognitive decline as senior care continues its evolution into spaces filled with therapeutic architecturally driven elements