Ageing-in-Place: Towards an ergonomically designed home environment for older Malaysians
S.A.R. Sharifah Norazizan, M.Y. Roznah, H. Tengku Aizan, G.S.C. Lina, H. Mohd Rizal
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AbstractThe study of the home environment is a domain within the field of environmental gerontology that addresses issues related to ageing-in-place. Ageing-in-place is one of the highest priorities of the elderly, and those who wish to do so should be enabled to remain in their own home as long as possible. An ergonomic approach to its designing would improve the relationship between the elderly user and his/her environment, thus encouraging ageing-in-place. The main objective of the paper is to describe the difficulties faced by older Malaysians in their present home environment. A total of 386 respondents currently residing in five urban locations were interviewed, mostly pertaining to factors associated with problems faced in their home. Six areas in the home were investigated to identify barriers that impede the performance of basic daily living for the respondents. Findings of research will be used to recommend adjustments to improve comfort and safety of the elderly. The basic tenet of the research is to put centre stage the idea of optimising the person-environment interaction of the older person, linking gerontechnology and ergonomics in supporting the older Malaysians to age-in-place.Keywords: home environment problems; ergonomics; ageing-in-place; Malaysia
S.A.R. Sharifah Norazizan, M.Y. Roznah, H. Tengku Aizan, G.S.C. Lina, H. Mohd Rizal (2006). Ageing-in-Place: Towards an ergonomically designed home environment for older Malaysians. Gerontechnology, 5(2), 92-98
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2006.05.02.005.00