Design and Pragmatic studies of bathroom for Elderly people in India

Abstract

A very high morbidity and mortality due to fractures as a result of fall is reported world over. Most of the falls are during toileting or bathing, which are quite often cardiovascular syndrome (CVS) and myocardial infarction (MI) leads to an emergency medical condition, are common in vulnerable groups such as elderly or handicapped or pregnant mothers. Most people who find bathroom as a quite retreat, never for a second consider this room as a dangerous place. A recent study shows that one of the single biggest gaps in most of the home safety plans is the bathroom; it is surrounded by water, slippery tiles and hard ceramic surfaces. The conditions of toilet and bathroom need to assess with a systematic design for the comfortable utility as well as to minimize the accidental falls and other mishaps. This paper is based on a pragmatic study on the toilet - bathroom design based on the responses from elderly people with or without disability. Results of the study will help to raise the awareness level among general population, health care professionals and engineers who design the bathroom for the elderly people. The study demonstrates the efficacy of new architectural design approaches with pragmatic studies in reducing the accidents and enhancing the comforts to the elderly people in India while bathing.