elderly-challenge-observation-4

(continuing from last week)

This week I have observed that the elderly have some problems: 4

Transportation:

- MRT

Like I said in my first observation, most elderly make use of a walking stick/ wheelchair. In the MRT, there are usually no seats available for the elderly to sit. Even though there are reserved seats for the elderly and others, nowadays no one cares about this and they sit at the reserved seats. As a result the elderly will have to stand up. When the MRT/ bus jerks, the elderly may lose their balance and fall down and hurt themselves. Even though there are poles and such, the elderly's limb are weak and some are unable to hold onto these poles to balance themselves.

Solution 1: In the MRT, the seats are made in such a way that there can be only one person to one seat. If the seats were not built in this way, instead built like the seats on the bus (cushions), more people will be able to sit down.

Solution 2: Have poles that are horizontal all along the MRT and not only in some places. This is because with horizontal poles, the elderly are able to lean on the poles and at the same time balance themselves.

- Bus

When the elderly gets onto the bus, they will have to climb a few steps. Even though this may not seem like a challenge to us, but to some of these elderly, it is a challenge. Some of these elderly sit in wheelchairs, thus they can only take some specific special buses that have movable ramps. This may cause them to make a detour or changing many bused before arriving at their destination.

Solution 1: Place a wooden board in the bus and remove the handrail in the middle and instead have handrails on the doors (which are at the side). These adjustments will allow elderly who sit in wheelchair to take any bus as there is a ramp (the wooden board) and enough space for the wheelchair to pass.

When the elderly gets onto the bus, they will have to look at the bus number before they go onto the bus. However, some elderly who are unable to see clearly may mistake one bus number for another bus number as they look similar. For example, the bus number 14 and 74. Some elderly may easily confuse these two bus numbers and get on the wrong bus.

Solution 1: Install a sound system that tells the passengers what bus is pulling into the bus stop. In this way, the elderly will be able to double check whether they are getting onto the right bus.

elderly-challenge-observation-3

(continuing from last week)
This week I have observed that the elderly have some problems: 3. Safety at home

- Toilet

Problem 1: When the elderly goes to the washroom to clean up or bathe, the toilet floor is usually slippery. The elderly will have a higher chance of falling down and end up injured. This can be avoided by a few simple measures.

Solution 1: Build in handrails at a suitable height and have an anti-slip mat on the bathroom floor. There also can be an emergency telephone in the toilet in case of an emergency, the elderly will be able to call for help.

Problem 2. The washroom is usually very cramped. If an elderly is not able to stand up without support, this makes moving around in the toilet very hard.

Solution 2: Make a bigger toilet such that it will be able to fit a wheelchair.

Problem 3: The elderly may not know how to adjust the temperature of water and may burn themselves with hot water.

Solution 3: Have an indicator to state that the water is hot enough.

Problem 4: Some elderly people are unable to turn the tap as they have arthritis.

Solution 4: Have an automatic tap (the temperature of the water of this tap must not be too hot nor too cold)

- Bedroom

Problem 1: Elderly people usually find it hard to get up from bed without any support.

Solution 1: Build handrails on their bedside. This will also prevent the elderly from falling off the bed. (there is a gap in the handrail so that the elderly will be able to get off and on their bed while holding the handrail)

Problem 2: When the elderly wants to go to sleep at night, they will usually have to turn off the light switch and fumble their way back to their bed. This may cause the elderly to bump into sharp ends and hurt themselves.

Solution 2: Have a bedside light-switch to enable to turn off and on the light so that they do not need to fumble and find their way back in the dark. (there can also be a emergency connection so that an emergency ambulance can be dispatched as soon as the connection is pulled)

- Kitchen

Problem 1: Most elderly use a kettle to boil hot water for themselves. This may be hazardous as they may forget what they were doing and a fire might break out.

Solution 1: Have an indicator and alarm to remind the elderly that the water is boiled.

Problem 2: When cooking on the stove, the elderly usually have use a gas stove to cook food on an open fire. If the elderly are forgetful, the food might boil over and in some cases might catch fire.

Solution 2: Use an improved induction cooker whereby there are large buttons and a timer that is easy to use so that the elderly will be able to put food on the induction cooker without worry that the food might boil over. There is also a sensor whereby if the food boils over, the cooking will automatically stop.

- Living Room

Problem 1: When there are visitors, the elderly may not be able to hear the doorbell ring and the visitor will be left standing outside the door. (especially when they are sleeping) Even if they can hear the doorbell, they have to get up and go to the door. They then have to look through the peephole. However, due to their failing eyesight, they are able to see the person clearly through the peephole. They will have to open the door to see who the person is clearly.

Solution 1: Have two big television monitor, one located in the bedroom and the other located beside the door.This will enable the elderly will be able to check and see whether there is someone outside their door and who it is. The volume of the bell can also be adjustable so that during the day the elderly will be able to hear if someone rings the bell. If the elderly does not want to be disturbed, the elderly will be able to adjust the volume.

elderly-challenge-observation-2

(continuing from last week)

This week I have observed that the elderly have some problems: 2. Eye-sight

- Most elderly live in HDB flats. Upon taking the lift, they are not able to see the numbers on the lift button well and press the wrong button which will lead them to the wrong floor. This is usually because the elderly live in high-rise buildings. These high-rise buildings have many floors and thus many buttons to chose to take people to their floor. Due to the numerous buttons, the size of the buttons will most likely be small to occupy less space so that all the buttons can fit on the panel. For example, when the elderly comes back from buying their groceries, they have a lot of things to carry. When they enter the lift, they may press the wrong lift button and go to the wrong floor. They may not realise that they have gone to the wrong floor and spent time dragging their groceries around and waste their energy. Even though some lifts have brails, most elderly do not know how to read/ feel brail.

Solution 1: Leave a bigger area for the panel to fit larger buttons so that the elderly will be able to see the numbers clearly.

Solution 2: Use a card system; when you insert a card (specially designed) into a slot in the lift, the lift will automatically bring you to the floor you live. Alternatively, you can also have the old method of pressing the lift button if you need. (this will need to be in place so that guests and helpers will be able to take the lift)

- When the elderly reads books/ magazines/ contracts they may not able to read the words clearly. Being able to read is very important as it keeps the elderly's mind alert and active. Their arms/ hands may not be strong enough to hold up a book for a prolonged period of time.

Solution: Have a book holder to place the reading material. (adjustable to the needs of the elderly) This will enable them to read either in bed, at the table or on the sofa. The book holder will also have other functions which include:

- an adjustable magnifying glass

so that the words will be enlarged for the elderly to read clearly

- adjustable light source

so that the elderly will not strain their eyes

- a device to scan the text and convert to speech

so that the elderly need not to read when their eyes are tired but instead listen to the words

(like the function we have in our macbook)

Elderly Challenge - Observation 1

This week I have observed that the elderly have some problems:

1. Mobility

Elderly people are unable to move quickly. As a result, they have to sit in a wheelchair and be dependent on someone else to push them or use a walking stick to walk around. However, both aids are not practical.

Wheelchair:

Problem 1: The wheelchair takes up a lot of space and there must be someone else to push the wheelchair. The elderly also has to get up from the wheelchair at times and sit back down. This is back-breaking work as the elderly is weak and unable to help him/herself to sit down and get up from the wheelchair so easily. They naturally reach out to a sturdy object to support his/her weight on and hoist him/herself on to the sofa/bed/chair/car seat. These are usually not level with the wheelchair and so it makes the job even harder.

Solution 1: The wheelchair could be built in such a way that the height of the wheelchair is adjustable to allow the elderly to hoist him/herself up.

Problem 2: The wheelchair as many people know cannot be used when moving up stairs. Wheelchairs are also very "jerky" when the elderly sit on the wheelchair. When the wheelchair moves over uneven surfaces, the "ride" becomes even more "jerky" for the elderly. The elderly may hit themselves on a hard surface or sharp edge on the wheelchair and hurt him/herself.

Solution 2: There should be more wheels on a wheelchair so that the effect of uneven surface will not affect the elderly so much and cause discomfort to the elderly.

Walking stick: The elderly has to lean on the walking stick for support to lift their "bad" leg and walk. This process is very tedious and the elderly's arm have to be strong to support their weight and we know that their limbs are weak. The walking stick does aid in walking, however, it does not make walking easy especially of you have to climb stairs.

Version 1: Single-Point Cane

As I stated in the previous section, the elderly has to sit down somewhere to rest. However, I have noticed that there are very few benches around the neighbourhood. If and when they sit down, most of them will naturally balance themselves on a nearby object. They usually place the walking stick beside the bench. However, the walking stick usually do not stay there and will drop onto the ground. The elderly will then have to bend down to pick up the walking stick. Some elderly have problems bending down and will most likely hurt themselves while picking up the walking stick.

Solution: The walking stick could have a hook at the end so that the walking stick will be able to be hooked onto the side of the bench and will not drop. (similar to those that are found in hocker-centers)

The walking stick does not provide much support for the elderly as it has only one leg. Thus it is not very stable. The elderly may lose their balance and support their weight on only one end of the walking stick. The walking stick will then give way causing the elderly to fall down and hurt him/herself.

Solution: The elderly should use the walking stick that has more legs to give more support and the elderly will be able to stable themselves if they lose their balance.

Version 2: Quad Cane

It provides the elderly with more support than the Single-Point Cane. The elderly will still have to have strong arms to support him/herself on the walking stick. However, the quad Cane is not useful when the elderly is climbing stairs as it has a large base with many legs.

Solution: Create a walking stick that it able to retract legs so that the user will be able to chose the number of legs that they wish to use to suit their needs.