Design Guidelines to Reduce Extrinsic Fall Risks in the Built Environment

Abstract

As people age, environments supporting changing needs can potentially impact their quality of life. Aging often leads to a decrease in the ability of people to interpret sensory cues within their environment. Using Pastalan's Empathic Model as a framework, a list of guidelines for the physical environment was established to address the extrinsic risk factors affecting falls. Attention to these items may not prevent all falls but will mitigate some of the external risks that cause falls for older adults. It is the goal of the authors that these guidelines be utilized as a design tool by families, design professionals, and healthcare providers for assessing sensory cues that can enhance aging adults' ability to maneuver within the built environment. Enhanced knowledge can serve to increase the safety, comfort, and ability of residents to maneuver the environment on their own.

Designing inclusive environments for people living with dementia: how much do we really know?

“…Another review published in the same year (Wood-Nartker et al , 2019) focussed on guidelines that aim to reduce the risk of falls in the indoor built environment. The authors assimilated the findings from previous research to provide detailed recommendations across four key categories: Lighting, colour, wayfinding/orientation and fixtures/fittings/furniture.…”