Abstract

The elderly patients living with dementia get admitted frequently to the acute hospitals for a variety of medical problems. Taking care of this group of vulnerable adults is challenging for the care team as they have higher care needs and miscommunication often occur resulting in unmet needs which may cause frustrations for both the patients and the care team. Designing therapies to keep the patients actively engaged is beneficial for both the patients and the care team. Contact with nature is increasingly studied as an effective method to manage stress. The presence of therapeutic gardens in an acute hospital ward could be a promising therapeutic intervention for work related stress for the hospital staff, while providing garden therapy for patients living with dementia.

Keywords: Therapeutic garden; Acute hospital; Hospital staff; Stress management; Dementia