Bilau Ibrahim, Koo BonWoo, Fu Esther, Chau Wendy, Kwon Hyeokhyen, Yang Eunhwa
Building Construction, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA.
Industrial & Systems Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea.
medRxiv. 2025 May 25:2025.05.21.25328033. doi: 10.1101/2025.05.21.25328033.
Older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) often experience difficulty locating items in kitchen cabinets, limiting their experiences in the kitchen and with meal preparation. This study examined how open shelving kitchen cabinets, relative to closed cabinets, affects cognitive load, motivation, physical activity, and user perception among older adults with MCI. Eleven older adults completed meal preparation tasks in both conditions while data on eye-tracking, wrist accelerometry, step count, task duration, and Intrinsic Motivation Inventory were collected. Participant profiles were developed using standardized z-scores, and post-task interviews captured qualitative perspectives. Results showed modest improvements in cognitive load, intrinsic motivation, and task duration, with physical activity significantly decreasing under open shelving, suggesting greater physical efficiency. Individual profiles revealed diverse patterns, including high performers, strugglers, motivated but physically strained, and balanced or average participants. Interview findings highlighted that emotional and aesthetic concerns, like dust and visual clutter, influenced attitudes toward open shelving regardless of objective functional benefits. These findings suggest that while open shelving may reduce cognitive and physical demands and enhance motivation and task efficiency, personalized and flexible design solutions are critical to support cognitive aging-in-place effectively.
患有轻度认知障碍（MCI）的老年人常常难以在厨房橱柜中找到物品，这限制了他们在厨房的活动以及准备饭菜的体验。本研究考察了与封闭式橱柜相比，开放式搁板厨房橱柜如何影响患有MCI的老年人的认知负荷、动机、身体活动和用户感知。11名老年人在两种条件下都完成了准备饭菜的任务，同时收集了眼动追踪、手腕加速度计、步数、任务持续时间和内在动机量表的数据。使用标准化z分数建立参与者档案，并通过任务后访谈获取定性观点。结果显示，认知负荷、内在动机和任务持续时间有适度改善，在开放式搁板条件下身体活动显著减少，表明身体效率更高。个体档案揭示了不同模式，包括表现出色者、挣扎者、有动机但身体紧张者以及平衡或普通参与者。访谈结果突出表明，诸如灰尘和视觉杂乱等情感和审美问题，无论客观功能益处如何，都会影响对开放式搁板的态度。这些发现表明，虽然开放式搁板可能会降低认知和身体需求，增强动机和任务效率，但个性化和灵活的设计解决方案对于有效支持就地认知老化至关重要。
