Privacy Needs When Visiting a Person With Alzheimer’s Disease: Family and Staff Expectations

Abstract

Over the past decade, environmental psychologists and architects have combined efforts to create living environments that respond to the needs of persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Although they have defined privacy as a significant topic, we know little about the importance of physical privacy for family visitors to long-term care facilities. This exploratory study addressed this topic through in-depth interviews with 22 family and 26 staff members of 15 long-term care facilities. Thematic analysis indicates that families attempt to achieve privacy by personalizing their relative’s living space and by maintaining territorial control over personal objects. Both families and staff members must adapt to behaviors of persons with dementia that do not meet cultural norms. The most popular places for visiting were public and semipublic spaces, even when private areas were available. Implications for researchers, facility designers, and operators are presented.