GVSU professor researches seniors and their navigation skills

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Research by a Grand Valley State University professor could someday impact how nursing homes and assisted living centers are constructed.

Rebecca Davis, assistant professor of nursing, received a two-year, $120,000 fellowship from the John A. Hartford Foundation to study how senior citizens navigate their way through familiar and unfamiliar environments.

Davis specializes in care for the older adult. She said the ways older people navigate around their homes and other places largely contributes to their independence.

"Some nursing homes are built like a maze," Davis said. "They have these long, white hallways and all the rooms look the same. It sometimes can be difficult for people to find their way around." She started this project when her father-in-law moved into a nursing home.

Using a virtual reality computer program built by researchers at the University of Arizona, Davis tests subjects on how difficult it is for them to find their way through simulated rooms and hallways. Her past research has proven older people tend to rely heavily on landmarks (a painting in the hallway, for example) and younger people can navigate with little information.

For her new study, Davis will research 150 healthy people, ages 18 and up, to see if different colors and cues help their navigation skills. Her study will begin in August; she plans to recruit subjects from the West Michigan area.

Davis will work with Barbara Therrien, nursing professor at The University of Michigan, and Margaret Calkins, an internationally recognized leader in the field of environments for the elderly, particularly those with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.

The Hartford Foundation, based in New York, works with researchers around the country to help increase the nation’s capacity to provide more effective and affordable care to senior citizens.

Davis can be reached for interviews at (616) 331-3338.