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As some cognitive functions decline in old age, the ability to decide about important life events such as medical treatment is endangered. Environmental support to improve the comprehension of health-related information is therefore necessary. With a small-scale explorative approach, the present survey study aimed at investigating person-environment fit (PE-fit) of support provided during medical consultations. This fit was calculated by assessing the match between aids provided by five medical practitioners during medical consultations and aids most appreciated by the geriatric patients (N = 88). The results showed that the largest discrepancies of used and appreciated aids could be found concerning the opportunity to discuss decisions with relatives, the possibility to take notes, the use of objects, pictures and a keyword list. Female patients indicated a lower PE-fit. These findings highlight discrepancies between the use of specific aids and the wishes of patients and call for thoughtful use of aids during consultations with geriatric patients.
As some cognitive functions decline in old age, the ability to decide about important life events such as medical treatment is endangered. Environmental support to improve the comprehension of health-related information is therefore necessary. With a small-scale explorative approach, the present survey study aimed at investigating person-environment fit (PE-fit) of support provided during medical consultations. This fit was calculated by assessing the match between aids provided by five medical practitioners during medical consultations and aids most appreciated by the geriatric patients (N = 88). The results showed that the largest discrepancies of used and appreciated aids could be found concerning the opportunity to discuss decisions with relatives, the possibility to take notes, the use of objects, pictures and a keyword list. Female patients indicated a lower PE-fit. These findings highlight discrepancies between the use of specific aids and the wishes of patients and call for thoughtful use of aids during consultations with geriatric patients.
Due to the increasingly heterogeneous trajectories of aging, gerontology requires theoretical models and empirical methods that can meaningfully, reliably, and precisely describe, explain, and predict causes and effects within the aging process, considering particular contexts and situations. Human behavior occurs in contexts; nevertheless, situational changes are often neglected in context-based behavior research. This article follows the tradition of environmental gerontology research based on Lawton’s Person-Environment-Interaction model (P-E model) and the theoretical developments of recent years. The authors discuss that, despite an explicit time component, current P-E models could be strengthened by focusing on detecting P-E interactions in various everyday situations. Enhancing Lawton’s original formula via a situationally based component not only changes the theoretical perspectives on the interplay between person and environment but also demands new data collection approaches in empirical environmental research. Those approaches are discussed through the example of collecting mobile data with smartphones. Future research should include the situational dimension to investigate the complex nature of person environment interactions.