Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety & satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

近年来，人们对家用卫生间的看法发生了变化。浴室一度被指定为仅供功能性活动的区域，但现在它被视为放松和享受的空间。因此，不幸的是，对于年长的残疾人来说，浴室是家里最容易发生跌倒等事故的房间。老年人的疾病、残疾和虚弱最终会导致在如厕和洗澡方面需要帮助。对于大多数人来说，这是对隐私和尊严的令人不快的侵犯。为帮助老年人继续在浴室里独立生活而提供的许多设备的设计和质量都很差，这意味着一些人宁愿在没有卫生间的情况下也能应付，从而导致危险的情况。这个项目是关于提高老年人浴室家具的质量和设计。挑战是设计出所有浴室用户都能接受的高质量产品，同时满足老年人和残疾人的特定需求。我们寻求在不损害人们自尊的情况下缓解困难的解决方案，并使卫生间成为一个舒适、愉快和安全的地方。我们的工业合作伙伴是知名卫浴家具制造商理想化标准。理想标准的参与表明了问题的重要性和在这一领域进行改进的愿望。为了实现该项目的目标，我们将让老年人参与设计过程，并与设计师合作。将招募独立生活的老年人，以及居住在庇护住房和其他形式的援助住房中的老年人。这些人将包括患有普通残疾的人，这些残疾随着年龄的增长而变得更加严重，如关节炎、视力和听力损失以及中风后的残疾。谢菲尔德哈勒姆大学的用户实验室将为该项目提供一个卫生间原型。实验室的浴室将包括浴室家具和设备的模型，这些家具和设备具有适应性，可以根据需要在空间中移动。第一步将研究浴室中的一个常见问题：淋浴。我们将回顾现有的文献和良好做法，并以此为基础来探讨这一问题。我们将开发和完善方法和技术，以方便老年人在浴室实验室与设计师一起工作。在这项计划的第一阶段，我们亦可发展最佳的方法，以便在计划后期及以后与长者探讨更广泛的浴室问题。在稍后阶段，我们会使用在试验研究中确定的方法，调查浴室的整体环境及其周围环境。除了使用实验室卫生间的各种布局外，我们还将在自己的家中拜访一些老年人，并邀请他们演示他们在自己的家中必须遇到的问题。将收集提出的挑战和可能的解决方案。设计者将与Idea Standard密切合作，开发将可能的解决方案转化为功能性商业可行产品的方法。老年人将参与整个过程，因此产生的任何解决方案都将反映他们的实际需要和要求。该项目将带来新的设计理念，能够改善老年残疾人的安全和生活质量。此外，我们将使用从这项研究中收集的数据来编写设计原则，考虑如何最有效地吸引老年人参与。

Perceptions of the domestic bathroom have changed over recent years. Whereas at one time, the bathroom was an area designated for functional activity only, it is now viewed as being a space for relaxation and enjoyment. It is therefore unfortunate that for older disabled people, the bathroom is the room in the house where accidents such as falls are most likely to occur. Illness, disability and frailty in older age ultimately lead to help being needed with toileting and bathing. For most people this is an unpleasant invasion of privacy and loss of dignity. The poor design and quality of many items of equipment provided to help older people to continue to cope independently in the bathroom means that some would rather manage without, leading to risky situations. This project is about improving the quality and design of bathroom furniture for older people. The challenge is to design quality products that all bathroom users would find acceptable as well as meeting the specific needs of older, and disabled people. We seek solutions which will alleviate difficulties in ways that do not undermine people's self-esteem, and make the bathroom a comfortable, enjoyable and safe place. Our industrial partner is Ideal Standard, a well known manufacturer of bathroom furniture. The involvement of Ideal Standard is an indication of the importance of the problem and the desire to make improvements in this area. To achieve the aim of the project we will involve older people participating in the design process and working with designers. Older people living independently will be recruited, as well as those living in sheltered and other forms of assisted housing. These will include people with common disabilities, which become more severe with age such as arthritis, sight and hearing loss and disability after stroke. A prototype bathroom will be provided within the 'user lab' at Sheffield Hallam University for the project. The laboratory bathroom will include mockups of bathroom furniture and devices that are adaptable and can be moved around the space as required.The first step will be to study one common problem within the bathroom; that of the showering. We will review existing literature and good practice, and use this as a basis for exploring the problem. We will develop and refine methods and techniques to facilitate older people working alongside designers in the bathroom laboratory. This initial phase of the project will also allow us to develop the best methods by which a wider range of bathroom problems can be explored with older people in later phases of the project and beyond.In later phases, we will use the methods identified during the pilot study to investigate the whole setting of the bathroom and its surroundings. As well as using various layouts in the laboratory bathroom, we will visit a number of older people in their own homes and invite them to demonstrate the issues that they have to encounter in their own homes. The presenting challenges and possible solutions will be collected. The designers will work closely with Ideal Standard to develop methods of translating possible solutions into functional commercially viable products. Older people will be involved throughout this process so that any solutions produced will reflect their actual needs and requirements. The project will result in new design ideas capable of improving the safety and quality of life of older disabled people. Additionally, we will use the data gathered from this research to write design principles that take into account how to most productively engage older people.