Ergonomics in designing facilities with a fuction to care for the elderly

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the physical environment of geriatric care facilities based on the examples of care homes and geriatric wards as environments which condition the effectiveness of care and nursing activities. So far, the tendency in design has assumed the priority of medical procedures or legal regulations in caring for the elderly. At present, however, the subject of the spatial solutions is the senior citizen and his/her needs and dysfunctions which are presented in the article based on the literature research and the performer conceptual process. Elderly people are a specific group of users due to the increased number of individual needs resulting from the level of their physical ability, their mental approach to the aging process and often lowered social position. All these factors have an impact upon designing facilities aimed at the elderly, especially those from the health care sector and social care. The principal spatial problems concerning facilities for the elderly have been determined based on the literature research and study visits in care homes and geriatric wards. Ergonomic solutions are an important element of such activities. Some design suggestions connected with the needs of the elderly are also presented along with an example of using research in designing by employing the Evidence-Based Design method, as well as the results of the conceptual research.