Exploring Older Adults’ Nighttime Trips to the Bathroom Under Different Lighting Conditions: An Exploratory Field Study

Abstract

Purpose: The field study was to understand older adults’ reactions to and use of different low-light conditions while walking to bathrooms in the dark in their homes. Low-light conditions included participants’ usual nightlights and a destination-based LED strip lighting system. Background: Older adults encounter fall accidents while going to bathrooms at night due to low illuminance levels. They also fear falling due to previous fall histories or visual impairments. This field study tested and compared a destination-based LED strip lighting system with their usual nightlights on their movement and fear of falls. Methods: Fifteen older adults from an independent living facility participated in the within-subject design experiment, walking under two scenarios in random order: with usual nightlights turned on or with the destination-based LED strip lighting system turned on. Body-worn sensors were used to collect participants’ movement behaviors, and subjective questionnaires were used to understand participants’ anxiety under the two low-light conditions. Further, semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand their nightlight usage patterns and their evaluations of the destination-based LED strip lighting system. Results: Participants walked more smoothly under the destination-based LED strip lighting system scenario. However, the anxiety states were not statistically different between the two scenarios. Conclusion: Visual cues in the dark can benefit older adults’ safe movement. However, the application of the lab-effective LED strip lighting system in home settings should consider older adults’ floor plans and their furniture layout, both indoor and outdoor ambient lighting sources, and their lifestyles.

Salient Targets and Fear of Falling Changed the Gait Pattern and Joint Kinematic of Older Adults

“…A total of eleven floor plans were included (two couples shared two floor types). Except for one floor type that had a turn in between, the path from the bedroom to the bathroom was mostly straight (6.90 ± 2.12 m) [ 26 ]. All participants have lived in their homes for an extended period of time and were familiar with the layout and furniture of their bedrooms.…”

Exploring the Importance and Performance Priorities of Older Adults With a User‐Centred Approach to Create a Fall‐Free Bathroom

“…There exist studies focusing on the gap between user requirements and bathroom design (Mullick 2001; Qun and Nana 2009). Lu, Luo, and Hu (2022) explored older adults' nighttime trips to the bathroom under different lighting conditions. They highlight that older adults could benefit from visual cues in the dark for safe movement.…”