Case study

The researchers video-taped the fully clothed elderly as they demonstrated how they normal climb in and out of the shower, sit and stand from the toilet seat. The video showed if the demonstrator used the grip bars or handle bars or held against the wall or any other parts of the toilet to help them get up or in/out.

They also researched on the area of their toilets to see if anything was obstructing their movements around the bathroom. The elderly that they researched on stayed in Congregated housings and one third of them had problems in sitting on the toilet and getting in to the bathtubs.

Usually when older people who have problems bathing themselves, they are associated with falls causing fracture of bones and sent into nursing homes.

The researcher says that by replacing shower doors with shower curtains and adding handle bars with weight bearing purposes can prevent more accidents from happening.




Credits:
O' Brien, Sharon
'Why Older Adults Need Improved Shower and Bathtub Safety' August, 2006
<http://seniorliving.about.com/od/fallingfallinginjurie1/a/bathtub_safety.htm>

NAFA STYLE GUIDE

(E- Resources)
Absher, Clare
'Safety Modifications for a Senior Friendly Bathroom' Care Pathways
 < http://www.carepathways.com/cto16.cfm >

O' Brien, Sharon
'Why Older Adults Need Improved Shower and Bathtub Safety'
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
August, 2006 < http://seniorliving.about.com/od/fallingfallinginjurie1/a/bathtub_safety.htm >

(Newspaper/Mag)
Sadi, Halim
'Safety risk at public toilets' 21 June 2012, 10 February 2014
NewStraitsTime

Documenting The Journey (Elderly)

Imagine yourself to be a 71 year old lady named Sally, She suffers from Arthritis & Osteoporosis causing her to have difficulty in walking. She lives alone in a 1 room flat as her husband has already passed on and her children are busy people who do not have time for her.

Despite her difficulty in walking, she goes to the nearby market daily to buy packed food with her trusty old walking stick for physical support. She depends on medication for her many sickness, and she doesn't have much energy to clean her house even on a weekly basis, she only manages to clean her house twice in a year which will take her days to finish.

Her children rarely visits her and she doesn't get regular allowance therefore she has to depend on her CPF for her living. She picks up cupboards and cans to sell to help with her income. When visiting the toilet, she will have difficulty in sitting and standing from the toilet bowl because of her back and leg problems. Her toilet is not fit for the elderly because it does not have handle railings by the side of the walls for her support.

Having to stay alone in a place where isn't fit for the elderly with no one to take care of her besides occasional visits from her children and social workers, she has to take care of herself and cannot complain about it.

Emphatizing (Safety for old people (Restroom))

As many of us know, most incidents of the elderly falling or slipping in the toilet is quite common due to the wet floor. Besides the wet floor, the elderly has difficulty standing up when they sit, therefore handles are drilled to the sides of the walls in the handicap toilets. However, handles and railings alone aren't enough to handle the problem, Elderly might not have the strength and flexibility to support themselves when they slip and fall.

Rubber mats should be placed on the floors of the toilet to prevent slipping and tissues, dustbins and hand dryer should be placed right beside the basin to allow them to dry their hands right after washing, preventing them from walking around more and flicking their wet hands to the ground, making it slippery.