The physical environment of the person with Alzheimer's disease.

A conceptual structure based on a set of 11 universal human needs is used as the basis for organizing a view of research methods appropriate to designing environments for people with dementia. The advantages and disadvantages of four general approaches are discussed: consumer surveys, direct behavior observation, expert judgments, and experimental designs. All are found wanting, though clearly worth pursuing. Systematic qualitative observational methods are suggested as a mode for generating and organizing user-friendly data for designing environments for people with dementia.