Enhancing Mobility for Aging: User Perspectives on Assistive Technology

1. EQUAL Older Users’ Perspectives on Mobility-Related Assistive Technology Research an exploratory study undertaken at Age Concern Institute of Gerontology, Anthea Tinker & Claudine McCreadie and Centre of Rehabilitation Engineering Alan Turner-Smith & Philip Blake King’s College London

2. Summary • The Background • The Challenge • Study design • Presenting the Problem • Emerging Themes – Problems & Solutions • Next stages in this research

3. Mobility-related problems increase with age Engineering help is at hand New technology needs to be wanted Older people have significant views. The Background

4. The Challenge: To produce Assistive Technology that is attractive to older people, that will be used by them, and that will promote their mobility.

5. Study design • Test if older people can identify and describe mobility-related problems they encounter. • Review previous research • Conduct focus group discussions • Involve postgraduate engineering students • to take users views into account • to understand needs of older people. • Test if older people can suggest ideas to be addressed by assistive technology research. • Use these views to plan potential R & D. • Obtain older people’s responses to these plans. NOW Future

6. Presenting the Problem Scenarios for focus group discussion were created by merging coded themes from • The International Classification of Functioning and Disability: WHO ICIDH-2. • Codes for mobility-related activities • http://www.who.int/icidh/ • Scales for disability used by the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) • EASYcare Elderly Assessment System • Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing • http://www.bbr-online.com/easycare/

7. Scenarios • Scenario and pictures presented that show: • Each member selected 3 most critical pictures • Open discussion on problems and solutions

8. Focus Groups • Research Team: • Social Scientist: facilitator • Engineers: resource; note taker; reflection(student) • Focus groups: • PILOT: Age Concern, Islington • mobility problems • University of the Third Age (U3A), Design Group • mobile and actively thinking about design • Age Concern, Bexley Heath • severe mobility problems • Hertfordshire Health Promotion Group and Lister Day Hospital, Stevenage. • severe mobility problems

9. Emerging Themes – Problems & Solutions • Activity • Stairs • Reaching & Bending • Others • Getting in and out of bed, chairs, and cars • Uneven surfaces • Carrying things • Opening doors • Participation • Information issues • Attitudes & Fears • Service issues

10. Activities • Stairs • Grip rails to be small enough to hold and non-slip • Steps to be uniform, shallow, and well-lit • Reaching & Bending • No kneeling after hip operation • Cannot reach high or into deep cupboards • Frightened or unsteady on steps without rail • Kitchens have shelves, cupboards, and oven at wrong height • Others • Getting in and out of bed, chairs, and cars • Uneven surfaces • Carrying things • Opening doors

11. Participation • Information issues • We cannot get out to see and buy these things • We’ve seen some catalogues, but everything is expensive • We need to talk to each other about tricks and gadgets. • Attitudes & Fears • The key thing is to keep our independence • I’m scared of falling, hurting myself • Stores aimed at “the disabled” – we don’t want to go in there! • I really appreciate … taking me out. • Service issues • Some get want they need immediately, some wait for months or years • Why should I pay £3,000 when I might not live long?

12. Next stages in this research • Use these views to plan potential R & D • Analyse records of group discussions • Collate ideas from students • Compare existing solutions from literature • Create models of potential solutions that might be possible given further engineering research. • Obtain older people’s responses to these plans. • Present the models in follow-up focus groups • Analyse records of group discussions

13. Thanks for watching! We would be very glad to receive your comments. Please contact alan.turner-smith@kcl.ac.uk