A project has started in Bosnia & Herzegovina, taking the first step towards making the standard environment within health institutions more dementia-friendly. The name of this project is: “Establishment of cognitive friendly standards in the design of space inside health institutions”.
The term “standard environment” in most health institutions means uncustomised public spaces in which people move around. Current architectural standards for the design of such spaces are generally not dementia-friendly. Design standards for cognitive or dementia-friendly directions for the public, and the marking out of public spaces, do not exist, so every health institution designs in its own way.
In such an environment, people with cognitive impairments have difficulty finding their way around, recognising and understanding the signposts and general orientation inside health institutions. The additional stress factor influences their motivation to leave their homes and visit such institutions.
This new project gathers together various stakeholders, including: The Centre for dementia, the Institute for public health of the Canton of Sarajevo, the Federal agency for standardisation in the health sector – AKAZ, “Abdulah Nakaš” general hospital in Sarajevo, and the Health centres of the Canton of Sarajevo.
Public events will follow, shortly, at which this new initiative will be presented. Participants, such as students, architects, designers, people with cognitive impairments, and medical experts, will be encouraged to participate fully in a public call for proposals for the design and organisation of public spaces in health institutions. Following the submission of these designs, the plan is to carry out a pilot study in the main general hospital and in a health centre. Following this pilot study, recommendations will be made for official design standards in all health institutions. This will improve the situation of people with cognitive impairments, helping them to negotiate their way through these public spaces more easily, thereby also strengthening their position in society, says Bosnian Alzheimer association Udruženje AiR.
