Project Overview

The MindfulGarden project comprises three feasibility studies exploring the use of interactive digital interventions to arrest and de-escalate anxiety and aggression in frail elderly suffering from hyperactive delirium and/or dementia. Two studies have been approved for implementation in September 2018. Fraser Health has approved a pilot study for Peace Arch Hospital to determine the efficacy of MindfulGarden in reducing hyperactive delirium. A concurrent study at Delta View will address hyperactive dementia in long term care. This application to AGE-WELL is in support of a third study at Delta View Rehabilitation Centre validating MindfulGarden as an important treatment in reducing bathing-related agitation in dementia residents. Bathing is well recognized as an activity associated with resident stress and aggression and violence against caregivers. In a study of 1,565 ‘bath sessions’ administered to long-term care dementia residents, 46.8% involved some degree of agitated behaviour, with 27.5% involving actual physical resistance (Cooke, 2006; Cooke & Gutman, 2005). A 2014 report from the University of Lethbridge also shows aggression and caregiver distress, with 40% of staff reporting feeling powerless and emotionally drained on a routine basis. (Source: Spenceley, S. 2015). There is an urgent need for new tools and treatments that can reduce residents’ stress in the bathing environment. In Cooke’s study, of six factors examined including air and water temperature and type of bathtub, increased privacy and the presence of windows in the bathing area were statistically significant in reducing physical agitation during bathing. MindfulGarden offers a digital approximation of the natural environment that might be viewed from a window. It combines a waterproof TV screen with sensors that respond to patient vocalization and movements to trigger a visual ‘garden’ that has been shown at proof-of-concept in 2016 to de-escalate challenging behaviours associated with delirium and dementia so that care can continue (demo: https://vimeo.com/296919077).