Research Methode, Case Study by Koh Chee Poh

Susan Tan, 74 years old, she has difficulty walking as she had fallen once in the bathroom and had her operation a few weeks ago. She lives in a one room flat with her daughter.

In the day time, she is alone at home as her daughter has to work and her husband had already passed away. She has to depend on the walking stick in order for her to move around. Whenever she uses the bathroom without anyone help, she can spend up to 10 minutes.

After the researcher gathered all the information, the researcher says that the problem casing the accident to happen was due to aging which leads to decreased mobility and flexibility in the joints, and the act of sitting and standing at the toilet puts the body in an unbalanced position, which can make falling more likely.

For senior citizens, using the toilet can be one of the most difficult and worrisome elements of the bathroom experience. In general, the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house for seniors; it has many slippery surfaces, sharp edges and involves a lot of motion in order to be utilized correctly.

Using the bathroom requires seniors to shift their weight and move from a seated to a standing position, which can cause them to lose their balance easily. Additionally, many medications and diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s can affect balance and make it even harder for seniors to control their balance at the toilet. To prevent accident from happening, a well-designed toilet for elderly has to be made.

Research Method, Case Study by Kaimun

An 83-year-old Austin Pereira previously in good health. The only medication he is currently taking Inderal (propranolol) for mild hypertension.  He slipped upon getting in the bathtub his right leg slipped out from under him and he hit his head on a sink last year, his wife Joan Pereira- Grosse decided that it was time to take action about this matter and better take some precautions to prevent accidents happening again.

She modify the bathroom with handle bar , bought non-slip mats ,installed non-slip parquet flooring  and even arranged the furniture to ensure Mr Pereira's comfort of mobility around their home in Opera Estate in Siglap. She is contented with her retrofitting as it is much more accessible for his husband to move around the house. After the rearrangement of furniture Mr Austin pereira did not had more falls at home anymore.  

The risk of falling is very common among the elderly, as Singapore is facing a growing ageing society the numbers of falling cases is rapidly increasing. Changi General Hospital (CGH) reported that cases involving the elderly ageing 65 and above had about 70 per cent of the home-accident cases directed by its accident and emergency (A&E) department on a daily basis, up to 50 per cent two years ago.

Research Method, Case Study by Thalia

U-M researchers video-taped the fully clothed elderly as they demonstrated how they normal climb in and out of the shower, sit and stand from the toilet seat. The video showed if the demonstrator used the grip bars or handle bars or held against the wall or any other parts of the toilet to help them get up or in/out.

They also researched on the area of their toilets to see if anything was obstructing their movements around the bathroom. The elderly that they researched on stayed in Congregated housings and one third of them had problems in sitting on the toilet and getting in to the bathtubs.

Usually when older people who have problems bathing themselves, they are associated with falls causing fracture of bones and sent into nursing homes.

The researcher says that by replacing shower doors with shower curtains and adding handle bars with weight bearing purposes can prevent more accidents from happening.

Credits:

O' Brien, Sharon

'Why Older Adults Need Improved Shower and Bathtub Safety' August, 2006

<http://seniorliving.about.com/od/fallingfallinginjurie1/a/bathtub_safety.htm>

Research Method, Case Study by Yonathan

Ronald Fidel is 76 years old. He is not able to walk like normal people. Walking stick must be beside him every time. In a daily life, he usually only take a bath once a day due to his physical condition. He does it by himself without help from others.

According to the information the researcher gathered from Ronald Fidel, bathroom in his house sometimes is slippery. But he says that it can be helped by the handle bars that fully furnished in the wall of his bathroom. Most of his bathing time he cling to the handle bars and he doesn’t mind at all about it.

Major problem that researcher found in Ronald Fidel case is about toilet seating. Ronald Fidel physical condition do not allow him to stand and sit comfortably. While in this case, his bathroom has toilet seats that researcher found is too low for him.

Researcher think about how to solve Ronald Fidel problem. The toilet seat must not too low for old people. Toilet seat must be designed to allow old people sit and stand as easy as possible.