Designing Alzheimer’s special care facilities that includes consideration for the Islamic culture

Abstract

Previous writings about Muslim minorities in the United States included various aspects of cultural diversity such as historical development, immigration, and political influences. However, there is a lack of research studies considering the correlation between the built environment and the Muslim users. Particularly, previous studies have not included the physical environment considered for Muslims or the Islamic culture in the United States. This exploratory study aimed to identify environmental design elements that can accommodate the Islamic culture in the United States Alzheimer’s special care facilities for the Muslim elderly population diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The study investigated cultural aspects of American Muslims to be employed when designing environments for American Muslims diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. A focus group and a questionnaire were used to accomplish the purpose of the study. A focus group study was conducted in the Islamic Center of the South Plains, Lubbock, Texas. Nine participants (American Muslims) were interviewed in the focus group study. A content analysis procedure was used to analyze the gathered data of the focus group. A questionnaire was developed based on the outcomes of the focus group and distributed to four Islamic communities in the state of Texas including Dallas, Huston, San Antonio, and Lubbock. The questionnaire was completed by 649 American Muslims. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics procedure (frequency distributions) from the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results of data analysis were used to generate design recommendations to be employed when designing Alzheimer’s special care facilities for Muslims diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.