Facilitating visitor engagement in dementia care environments.

Symbolic to the original function of the Praatpaal, the modified Praatpaal triggers people with dementia to approach and be in contact. The Praatpaal displays polygon journals and plays music from the 50's; facilitating as a conversation starter between people with dementia and their environment. The 'Back-in-time' Praatpaal was well-received by media and is now sold to care homes. Care manager Karin Heezen from RSZK (Veldhoven) reflected that elderly started telling stories and the visits to the Praatpaal increases movement which is beneficial to slow down the process of dementia.