Ergonomics at Home : Design for Safe Living and Home Care

Sammanfattning: The home should represent safety and security for the person who lives there, and this is an important factor for independence and autonomy in very old age. With aging populations, the needs for long-term care increase, care provided by spouses and/or from the growing home care sector. Injuries among these groups are common.In this study, an ergonomics perspective was applied in the analysis of some basic daily activities performed by old persons and by home care workers, assisting.The postures and movements of home care staff assisting at toilet visits, and transferring persons from wheelchair to toilet, were measured and analysed.Some daily activities related to making food and washing clothes, performed by a group of persons between the age of 75 and 100, were measured and analysed.The task of getting up from the floor – on your own and with the help of a walker equipped with a lifting device – was analysed with the help of older persons and nursing staff. The design was built on the knowledge gained from analysing how older people get up from floor.Requirements for access with a four-wheeled walker in the local built environment were investigated.Observations were made with the help of video recording. Postures were recorded with the CUELA measurement system. The VIDAR ergonomics evaluation instrument was used to register the participants’ experiences of discomfort and pain during getting up from the floor with or without the walker with a lifting device. Structured interviews were used to find out about older peoples’ experience of using the four-wheel walker.It is concluded that ageing at home requires improved architectural and technical bathroom design and improved access in the local built environment.