The number of elderly people in Thailand has been increasing continuously. Using the toilets is a daily necessity for them. The aim of this study is to assess the elderly's toilets on health risks and safety. There were 278 respondents in this study which was carried out as an exploratory and descriptive study by investigating 278 bathrooms in Pa Phayom Sub-District, Phatthalung Province, Southern Thailand. The result revealed the risk hazard areas in the house for the elderly were bathrooms (202 respondents or 72.66%). The elderlies have experienced an accident in the bathrooms (42 respondents or 15.11%). Besides, the overall bathroom safety of elderly was acceptable. There were some items whose levels were unacceptable and poor such as insufficient toilet paper to use, no shower seat/chair, no backrest for the elderly who cannot sit on their own, no flush toilet, no handrails on the wall for support, no signal or alarm/call for helpers and narrow door. Hence, the government or health authority needs to educate the elderly or helpers to be more aware of health risks and safety measures of using the bathrooms among the elderly, to promote using the bathrooms which are safe or appropriate for their health and to support some facilities which help them to improve their bathrooms including specific emergency equipment in the toilet. These measures will assist in reducing the negative health effects and increasing safety among the elderly.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.