Insufficient Lighting in Nursing Homes

Light conditions for older adults in the nursing home: Assessment of environmental illuminances and colour temperature

“…They found that conditions are too poor for proper vision. Similar results have been found and reported in the literature, for instance, in the United States by Hegde and Rhodes [10] and Bakker et al [11], and in Belgium by De Lepeleire et al [12]. In these studies, colour temperature of the light and its spectral composition were not considered, and three of the studies [10e12] did not consider vertical illuminances.…”

“…The observed illumination conditions were compared to the values given in a guideline by the Dutch Society for Illumination (Nederlandse Stichting Voor Verlichtingskunde, NSVV) [26], and compared to the values stated by van Hoof and Schoutens [27] and De Lepeleire et al [12] (Table 2). The available guidelines for light for older people, however, do not distinguish between horizontal and vertical illuminances.…”

“…Generally, the colour temperature of the light sources should be between 2700 and 3000 K, in accordance with personal preferences. Recommendations by De Lepeleire et al [12] based on a 55% increase of levels stated in the European Standard Lighting of work places are included in the comments. Taken and adapted from van Hoof et al [3].…”

Age Related Visual Pathologies among Nursing Home Residents: An Evaluation of Light Conditions and Recording in Client Files

“…These threshold values were based on The Dutch Society for Illumination guidelines (Stoer, 2006) and the values stated by Van Hoof and Schoutens (2007) and De Lepeleire, Bouwen, De Coninck and Buntinx (2007). The latter authors recommend adjusting the threshold levels of the originally stated 500 lx for offices to 750 lx or even to 1000 lx for older adults.…”

A nursing home staff tool for the indoor visual environment: The content validity

“…[7] In addition, earlier studies have shown that light conditions in the nursing home environment are poor. [8,9] The nursing home environment might or might not facilitate residents' activities and participation.…”