Adaptability of Kitchen Furniture for Elderly People in Terms of Safety

Abstract

• The number of senior citizens is rapidly increasing, which consequently signifi es an increase in the number of people having sight, hearing or memory diffi culties, people with hampered mobility, and people who fi nd it increasingly diffi cult to process information. Elderly persons experience a greater degree of risk whilst performing daily tasks in their kitchens. Moreover, they are more susceptible to infection and illnesses, necessitating greater care to achieve hygienic conditions within their kitchens. The goal of our research was to determine ispitanika. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju kako ljudi ne znaju da bi uz prikladniju opremu brže, lakše i sigurnije mogli obavljati svakodnevne zadatke. Starije osobe u kuhinji prije svega imaju probleme s održavanjem higijene -68 %, s neodgovarajućim rasporedom kuhinjskih centara -56 %, s neadekvatnom rasvjetom -32 %, s nepropisno dizajniranim namještajem -72 %, s problemima slabijeg pamćenja -75 %. Vjerujemo da je potrebno projektirati kuhinjski namještaj prilagođen specifi čnim zahtjevima starijih osoba.Ključne riječi: kuhinja, starije osobe, oprema, dizajn, sigurnost, ergonomija quality of life in general. The majority of fl ats are designed for young, fi t, and active people. Many senior inhabitants do not possess these attributes, meaning that even performing the simplest home tasks is more taxing for them. Furthermore, inappropriately designed housing space can lead to health issues such as backache or injuries from accidents. Research has shown that adapting living space to the needs of the elderly can reduce the risk of injury by 30 % -50 %. The age of the furniture and equipment in their homes also plays an important part in determining functionality. According to research, 60 % of the senior population lives in homes that have not been renovated or refurnished for over 20 years, contributing to lower safety and comfort levels, (Home Remodeling..., 2006). Comfort is crucial for the elderly, as they spend most of their time at home. Over 14 % of English elder citizens live in unfi t conditions, in homes that are in dire need of renovation and adaptation (Boyo, 2001). Yet only 10 % of them decide to modify their existing furniture and equipment to refl ect their special needs (Gilderbloom et al, 1996; Katsura et al, 1989). They often refrain from renovating due to fi nancial concerns, lessening mobility and fear of the upheaval of renovation work. Furthermore, the research also shows that the elderly also suffer from inappropriate room dimensions including rooms that are too big for them (West and Emmitt, 2004).According to data issued by the Statistical Offi ce of the Republic of Slovenia, citizens over the age of 60 accounted for only 11.84 % of the changes made to residences in 2008. Other data suggests that senior citizens rarely decide to change their home environments, which contributes to a lowering of comfort levels and environments ill-suited for accommodating residents with special needs, and to lower safety levels. Most people are also ...

Designing for human use: Examples of kitchen interiors for persons with disability and elderly people

“…In their domestic settings, most of the problems that the elderly and disabled people encounter are found in those areas where enhanced activity is required, such as the bathroom and kitchen (Fabisiak & Kłos, ; Hrovatin, Širok, Jevšnik, Oblak, & Berginc, ; Kirvesoja, Väyrynen, & Häikiö, ; Sydor, ; Sydor, Wiaderek, Fabisiak, & Kłos, ). Designing interior and kitchen furniture, then, plays an important role in providing a comfortable and safe home environment (Bonenberg, ; Fabisiak & Kłos, ).…”

Analysis of Human Needs in Kitchen Design for People with Visual Impairment

“…Similarly as in other European countries, also in Poland the mean life span increased from 40 years in 1900 to approx. 80 in 2000 (Lewandowski, 2000), and consequently the number of people suffering from different forms of disability is also increasing (Freedman and Martin, 1998;Hrovatin et al, 2012). Literature data report that in the year 1988 every tenth inhabitant of Poland was classified as disabled (Kowal, 2002).…”

“…Respondents pointed to the necessity of replacing traditional doors with a vertical axis of rotation with sliding doors in order to completely eliminate the risk of a bump (9 %) as well as replacing standard handles with recessed handles (7 %). The need for arranging the kitchen with furniture without handles and equipped with sliding doors was also highlighted by Hrovatin et al (2012). The respondents would like to have induction cook tops in their kitchens; however, instead of sensory control they should have manual control (e.g.…”

“…This is crucial, since the results of Taha and Sulaiman (2010) indicate that kitchen brightness level was lower than required by the elderly, which could affect their task performance. Moreover, according to Hrovatin et al (2012) the amount of inadequately lit kitchens among seniors is 32 % in Slovenia and 25 % in Italy (Colombo et al, 1998). In the modern concept of kitchen furniture, the fronts are additionally equipped with handle strips.…”

Sustainable Design: A Case of Environmental and Cost Life Cycle Assessment of a Kitchen Designed for Seniors and Disabled People

“…The project team developed new design concepts for kitchen lines, as well as devices for physical It has been found that there is no other publication within the available literature that presents research into the design work for kitchens produced for the elderly and people with motor impairment, which simultaneously uses traditional and environmental design methods. There are publications that refer to the design of bespoke kitchen lines for elderly and/or disabled people (e.g., [35][36][37][38][39][40][41]), but none of them consider the environmental aspects of the respective processes. On the other hand, there are publications that deal with kitchen eco-design but without any specific consideration of the needs of elderly and/or disabled people, e.g., [42][43][44][45].…”