Design for Aging: Psychological Health Among Older Adults

Defining Psychological Needs

Psychological needs are those specific to the human mind and its function. Several psychological concepts and potential design implications are highlighted in the table below. Opportunities to personalize one’s space, privacy, successful wayfinding, and the restorative aspects of nature all contribute to psychological health among older adults.

Related References

Bowman, C. S. (2008). The environmental side of the culture change movement: Identifying barriers and potential solutions to furthering innovation in nursing homes. Retrieved from http://www.pioneernetwork.net/Data/Documents/Creating-Home-Bkgrnd-Paper.pdf 

Brawley, B. C. (2006). Designing innovations for aging and Alzheimer’s: Creating caring environments. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Cutler, L. J. (2008). Nothing is traditional about environments in a traditional nursing home: Nursing homes as places to live now and in the future. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Lawton, M. P., & Nahemow, L. (1973). Ecology and the aging process. In C. Eisdorfer & M. P. Lawton (Eds.), Psychology of adult development and aging (pp. 619-674). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 

Joseph, A. (2006). Health promotion by design in long-term care settings. Concord, CA: The Center for Health Design.

Ulrich, R., Zimring, C., Zhu, X., DuBose, J., Seo, H., Choi, Y., . . . Joseph, A. (2008). A review of the research literature on evidence-based healthcare design (Part 2). Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 1(3), 61-126.