The Environment Matters: Perspectives on Using the Physical Environment in a Skilled Nursing Facility for Clients with Dementia

Abstract Occupational therapists (OTs) are among the health care professionals who assist individuals with neurocognitive disorders (NCDs) to engage in self‐care and leisure activities in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) environment. OTs use various environmental modifications to help individuals with NCDs engage in various activities (Jensen & Padilla, 2017). Strong evidence has been found to support occupational therapy recommendations and interventions in adapting the physical environment to support person centered care (Gitlin et al., 2010; Jensen & Padilla, 2017; Zimmerman et al., 2013). This session aims to share findings from a qualitative case study regarding the perspective of OTs and how they use the built physical environment to help individuals with NCDs is a SNF engage in self‐care and leisure related activities. Recommendations from this study include nonpharmacological‐based intervention strategies that incorporate the use of the built environment in a SNF to improve the quality of life for clients with a NCD.