Snoezelen in people with intellectual disability or dementia: A systematic review.

Background: Snoezelen focuses on multisensory stimulation in an adapted environment and was originally developed for people with severe and profound intellectual (and multiple) disabilities. Snoezelen has been used for many years with various target groups and for different purposes. Variation in its application has resulted in a lack of understanding of snoezelen's application characteristics and of how they may relate to effects. Objective: The aim of this review was to provide an overview of the application and effects of snoezelen in people with intellectual disability or dementia in order to analyse the relationship between application characteristics and effects. Design: A systematic review. Methods: Five databases were searched for snoezelen studies that took place in a specially adapted environment. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The application characteristics (that is, the stimuli used, environment, and support given) and the effects were extracted. Reported effects were categorized into different human functioning dimensions using the model of intellectual disabilities of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Results: In total, 62 studies involving people with intellectual disability ( Conclusions: The majority of studies lacked details on application characteristics during snoezelen. Reported effects varied, although most related to mental health. Future research should analyse in detail the relationship between application and effects.