A Panel-Based Comparative Observational Study of the Dementia Care Environment for Older Adults - Focusing on a Group Home and a Green Care Farm -

The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of group home care facilities and green care farm (GCF) facilities on the behavior and quality of life of older adults with dementia.A total of nine participants-five from a group home in Seoul, Korea, and four from a GCF in Laarbeek, the Netherlands, were observed three times over one year using the Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) tool.Physical environmental characteristics of the participating care homes were assessed using the Therapeutic Environment Screening Survey for Nursing Homes (TESS-NH) tool.The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests.The results were as follows: 1) the GCF's residents interacted more with both neighbors and staff members and spent more time engaging in physical activities, while the group home's residents primarily participated in structured physical exercise programs.2) Although indoor activity programs were relatively well developed in the group home, which lacked outdoor space, the residents in the GCF, with its homelike setting and spacious outdoor areas, exhibited less withdrawn behavior.This study suggests that a physical environment with a homelike atmosphere, appropriate stimuli, and outdoor areas is directly or indirectly associated with the behavior and quality of life of older adults with dementia.