The Comprehension

The problems that were pointed out by one of the elders interviewed were:

• Due to uneven surfaces, water is logged on the floor and the floor becomes too slippery eventually due to formation of algae.

• Had once experienced disbalance while lifting a filled bucket of water.

• Faced difficulties when bending down to fill up the mug from the bucket.

• Faced problems at night when the electricity goes, it is difficult to go to the bathroom even for washing hands.

On further interviewing with one more elder, these difficulties were listed out:

• She pointed out that the tiles on the wall were usually wet because of the vapuors during the morning time. The tiles are usually polished and smooth unlike the ones on the floor. Because of this, many times when she was standing and trying to take support from the walls, either while standing or sitting, her hands had slipped and she had gotten unbalanced.

• Whenever the geyser was being used, she pointed out that the tap used to get very hot while using it. And the tap used to be the only thing that was available to her for support to stand up.

• Alternatively, she used to stand by keeping both the hand on the ground and getting up, but because the bathroom was usually too small, she always feared that the washbasin might hurt her in the back while getting up.

• She pointed out that most of the things in the bathroom is for show purpose and one cannot take their support when needed. From towel handles to soap stands, they don’t have the strength to support someone when needed. Moreover, they are layered with some shiny material which makes them even more slippery with water on them.

• The space is so little that it was very difficult for her to sit down and later get up to get dressed. She suggested having something to sit inside, that is not very low. Something of the height of a chair.

Based on the interviews, the major problems that we saw were that most of the bathrooms are designed keeping the young generations in mind. Even when designing the bathroom for a new home, people usually don’t consider the elderly in the house. The main problem pointed out to us was the need of something for support inside the bathroom.

After studying the existing products in the market, we found that the non-slip mats are prone to fall, costly and they cover only a small area of the bathroom. While the shower chairs are very costly and not feasible for a small bathroom as it occupies some space. In talking to our parents regarding making the bathroom more elderly-friendly, we got to know that the current solutions for supporting are grab bars which are permanent and have extra costs for fitting them into the bathroom. Also, having lots of support handles in the bathroom can be even more dangerous when the space in the bathroom is small. Thus, one might get hurt when unnoticed. Moreover, the direction of the install will depend on the specific mobility needs.