Blackler Alethea, Brophy Claire, O'Reilly Maria, Chamorro-Koc Marianella
QUT Design Lab, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Bundaberg, QLD, Australia.
SAGE Open Med. 2018 Jan 4;6:2050312117744925. doi: 10.1177/2050312117744925. eCollection 2018.
This research was intended to provide a greater understanding of the context and needs of aged care seating, specifically:To conduct an audit of typical chairs used in aged care facilities;To collect data about resident and staff experiences and behaviour around chairs in order to gain a deeper understanding of the exact issues that residents and staff have with the chairs they use at aged care facilities;To identify positive and negative issues influencing use of chairs in aged care facilities;To deliver evidence-based recommendations for the design of chairs for aged care facilities.
Methods included a chair dimension audit, interviews with residents, experts and carers and observations of aged care residents getting into chairs, sitting in them and getting out.
Results showed that residents, experts and carers all prefer chairs which are above the recommended height for older people so that they will be able to get out of them more easily. Armrests were essential for ease of entry and egress. However, many residents struggled with chairs which were also too deep in the seat pan so that they could not easily touch the floor or sit comfortably and were forced to slump. Most residents used cushions and pillows to relieve discomfort where possible.
The implications of these issues for chair design and selection are discussed. Variable height chairs, a range of chairs of different heights in each space and footrests could all address the height problem. Chair designers need to address the seat depth problem by reducing depth in most aged care specific chairs, even when they are higher. Armrests must be provided but could be made easier to grip. Addressing these issues would increase access to comfortable yet easy-to-use chairs for a wider range of the aged care population.
本研究旨在更深入地了解老年护理座椅的使用环境和需求，具体如下：
对老年护理机构中使用的典型座椅进行审核；
收集有关居民和工作人员在座椅周围的体验及行为数据，以便更深入了解居民和工作人员在老年护理机构使用座椅时遇到的确切问题；
确定影响老年护理机构座椅使用的积极和消极问题；
为老年护理机构座椅设计提供基于证据的建议。
方法包括座椅尺寸审核、对居民、专家和护理人员的访谈，以及对老年护理居民坐入座椅、坐在座椅上和从座椅上起身的观察。
结果表明，居民、专家和护理人员都更喜欢高于老年人推荐高度的座椅，这样他们能更轻松地起身。扶手对于进出方便至关重要。然而，许多居民在使用座面过深的座椅时遇到困难，以至于他们无法轻松触地或舒适就坐，被迫弯腰驼背。大多数居民尽可能使用靠垫和枕头来缓解不适。
讨论了这些问题对座椅设计和选择的影响。可变高度座椅、每个空间设置一系列不同高度的座椅以及脚凳都可以解决高度问题。座椅设计师需要通过减少大多数老年护理专用座椅的深度来解决座深问题，即使座椅较高时也应如此。必须设置扶手，但可以使其更易于抓握。解决这些问题将使更多老年护理人群能够使用舒适且易用的座椅。
