You are the Administrator of the Emerald Isle Long Term and Memory Care facility. You read an article that suggested that patients in long term facilities show a decline in the mental and physical health that is not demonstrated in patients of the same age and conditions that are cared for at home. The article suggests multiple reasons for the difference in the patients. One that you find particularly interesting is that patients that spend time outdoors seem to have a slower decline in mental health and cognitive ability. The article provided no data to support the idea.

You would like to develop an evidence-based analysis to demonstrate the effectiveness of an outdoor experience. Using the information from your long-term care class and the research class. Design a mechanism to gather evidence to support the idea or discount the idea.

Include in your design the following:

• How can you provide the outdoor experience? Do you have an existing outdoor space, or will you need to designate one and how might it have to be modified? What would be the cost associated with making a space available.
• How will you choose the participants in the study? What kind of legal release and documents will you need to obtain to utilize the participants? Will you have a control group, why or why not?
• How will you transport and monitor the patients while they are in the outdoor environment?
• How will you measure the change in mental and/or cognitive changes? What kind of research design will you use? How long will you provide the “treatment” to the participants? How often will you measure their mental and/or cognitive function? What statistical tool might you use to measure the effectiveness of the outdoor experience?
• What other experience could, in the future, you combine with the outdoor exposure to enhance the mental and/or cognitive function of the patients at your facility