The concept of green care farms for older people with dementia

Abstract

In the Netherlands community-dwelling older people with dementia can attend regular day care services (RDCS). Since approximately 2000, farms (so-called ‘green care farms’) also offer day care. The present study introduces the concept of green care farms for older people with dementia. We further provide an integrative framework for the expected health benefits of day care at green care farms (GCF) for older people with dementia. We present an overview of evidence for dementia related interventions that correspond with the current developments in health care (i.e. environmental, activity-based and psychosocial interventions), and that are relevant for day care. We subsequently focus on the differences between day care at GCF and RDCS with regard to these interventions, and describe the integrative framework for the expected health benefits of GCF for older people with dementia. We conclude that at GCF interventions are naturally integrated in the environment. They are present simultaneously and continuously, which is more difficult to realize in RDCS. We hypothesize that GCF have more health benefits for older people with dementia than RDCS.