Browsing by Subject "Elderly"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Open Access
The aid of colour on visuospatial navigation of elderly people in a virtual polyclinic environment
(John Wiley and Sons, 2018) Kumoğlu-Süzer, Özge; Olguntürk, Nilgün
It is well documented that elderly people often have difficulties in finding their way in unfamiliar environments. In this study, we aimed to explore the usage of colour as visuospatial navigation tool for elderly people by testing in a virtually simulated polyclinic environment. We compared neutral, warm and cool coloured experiment settings to find out the effect of different colours on elderly people's visuospatial navigation performances. We conducted our experiment with 90 participants in two phases, each with a specific task (Route Replication and Picture Classification). The findings showed that neutral coloured setting affected participants' visuospatial navigation performances negatively compared to warm and cool coloured settings. However, there was no significant performance difference between warm and cool coloured environments. In addition to that, when they were asked to reach to the destination point, male participants spent shorter time, did fewer wrong turns, experienced fewer hesitations and traveled shorter distances compared to female participants. Currently, due to the increase in the elderly population, designing well-functioning interior spaces for the elderly has become a more pressing matter. We believe that the findings of this study will provide important clues for both interior designers and environmental psychologists.
Open Access
Colour as an aid for elderly during visuospatial navigation in a virtual polyclinic environment
(2018-09) Süzer, Özge Kumoğlu
It is well documented that elderly people often have difficulties in finding their way in unfamiliar environments. In this study, it is aimed to explore the usage of colour as visuospatial navigation tool for elderly people with tests in a virtually simulated polyclinic environment. Neutral, warm and cool colour experiment settings were compared to find out the effect of different colours on elderly people’s visuospatial navigation performances by using a head mounted display. The experiment was conducted with 90 participants in three phases; eligibility questionnaires, testing on computer, and presence questionnaire. The findings showed that neutral coloured setting affected participants’ visuospatial navigation performances negatively compared to warm and cool coloured settings. However, there was no significant performance difference between warm and cool coloured environments. In addition to that, when they were asked to reach to the destination point, male participants spent shorter time, did fewer wrong turns, experienced fewer hesitations and travelled shorter distances compared to female participants. Currently, due to the increase in the elderly population, designing well-functioning interior spaces for the elderly has become a more pressing matter. The findings of this study will provide important clues for both interior designers and environmental psychologists.
Open Access
A framework for a design decision support system model for the wet space renovation of the residences used by elder people
(1997) Sağdıç, Yaprak
Elderly people have many limitations in physical and intellectual capabilities due to aging process and they do many renovations in their houses, especially in wet spaces. It is observed that these renovatiohs are. hot satisfactory from ergonomics point of view. Therefore, a field research is conducted among the Turkish elderly people in order to define the variables influencing the renovation decisions of elderly people. The results are compared with the suggestions of design guide books to determine the differences in renovation decisions. Finally, a framework for a design decision support system model is developed for the wet space renovation of the residences of elderly people.
Open Access
A priority-based ‘design for all’ approach to guide home designers for independent living
(Taylor & Francis, 2014-04-22) Demirkan, H.; Olgunturk, N.
The aim is to provide a priority-based ‘design for all’ approach list that can be used as a guide in the architectural design process for independent living of the home users. It is important to prioritize ‘design for all’ factors and their items as well as the significant differences among adults, elderly and adults with physical disability and visual impairments for the design of homes. A survey was conducted with 161 participants, including adults, elderly and adults with physical disabilities and visual impairments. The results of a factor analysis test identified six high-loaded (adequate illumination level, ease of use in kitchen, adequate space for approach and use, adequate contrast between essential information and its surroundings, ease of use in accessories and functional vertical circulation) and three low-loaded factors (provision of privacy and safety in bathroom, safety of floors and accessibility to all spaces). Multiple comparison tests were done in order to determine the group differences in each prioritized factor for diverse users. Furthermore, a priority-based list with the characteristic features of the ‘design for all’ approach for independent living is developed as a guide for home designers.
Open Access
The relationship between housing accessibility and healthy aging: the case of Turkish elderly women
(IOS Press, 2018) Afacan, Yasemin; Craddock, G.; Doran, C.; McNutt, L.; Rice, D.
This study proposed Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) as a tool to elicitate the requirements of elderly to age well and improve the accessibility of home environments. It aims to address the accessibility issues in a case housing environment and provide guidance and design recommendations to designers and architects, who generally have difficulty to obtain information on universally designed housing environments. First, healthy aging concept is introduced. Then, the role of housing accessibility in healthy aging is explored. Later, the methodology is presented. In the findings the importance and satisfaction ratings of 100 Turkish elderly women, which are selected from an exemplary housing environment of the most dense and busiest urban area in Ankara, are analysed. According to results, IPA could be an effective tool to decide how to meet accessibility requirements and maximize home satisfaction. Thus, this study contributes to the design literature by being a first study to explore the applicability of IPA technique in design discipline while eliciting elderly women expectations and accessibility requirements for healthy aging.
Open Access
Spatial priorities of older adults for social participation in a senior center
(2016-01) Kutsal, Gökçe
Healthy aging has become a topic of upmost importance as the world’s older adult population increases. Social participation has a large impact on mental and physical health of seniors and it increases their sense of well-being as well. Senior centers are one of the important locations for social participation of older adults. This study focuses on the spatial priorities of older adults for social participation in a senior center with an aim to find out their preferences. In a selected senior center, 60 participants are interviewed about the social and physical factors in that setting. The age range was between 60 and 87 with the mean age 72.28. The majority were female, married and high school graduates. As a result of statistical factorial analysis, three groups were determined as social factors: Socialization degree, socialization frequency and demographic information. For physical factors, four groups were found: Furniture and physical comfort, finishing materials, lighting, and decoration. Several differences among age groups, genders, education levels, and occupations were found as well as numerous correlations between demographics, social factors, activities, and physical factors.