Home design for aging in place

1. 15 Minute OHCE Leader Lesson Home design for aging in place Gina Peek, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Cooperative Extension Housing and Consumer Specialist

2. Who wants to stay in your home as long as possible? We all do! However, our home environments can have a significant impact on health, welfare, and safety.We can better our chances of staying in our homes by applying universal design principles.Universal design focuses on creating home environments that are accessible to all ages and stagesof life.

3. What is universal design? Person A Person C Person B “The design for products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” There are sevenprinciples of Universal Design. The principles and most examples are derived from the book The Universal Design File: Designing for People of All Ages and Abilities.

4. Seven Principles of Universal Design

5. Principle 1: Equitable Use Guideline: Avoid segregating or stigmatizing any users. Example: With a no-step entrance, everyone uses the same door. Apply the example: Does your home have at least one no-step entrance?

6. Principle 2:Flexibility in Use Guideline: Provide choice in methods for use. Example: Grab bar(s) allow for tub or shower use in seated or standing position. Apply the example: Does your home have grab bars in the bathroom? Product: Moen Home Care 16-in Brushed Nickel Wall Mount Grab Bar

7. Principle 3:Simple and Intuitive Use See the phone? It’s programmed with emergency numbers! Guideline: Arrange information consistence with its importance. Example: Phone with pre-programmed emergency numbers allow users to quickly access important information (ex. emergency numbers). Apply the example: Does your home have a pre-programmed telephone that is accessible from the bed? Why is bedside access important?

8. Principle 4:Perceptible Information Guideline: Use different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of essential information. Example: A smoke alarm that combines sound and flashing lights provides essential information in more than one way. Apply the example: Do you have a functional smoke alarm on every level in your home? First Alert Talking Combination Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm

9. Principle 5:Tolerance for Error Guideline: Provide fail safe features. Example: Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) are devices that are designed to protect consumers from burns and shocks in higher risk areas (ex. near water in kitchens). Apply the example: Do you have ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) on outlets located near sinks? Pass & Seymour/Legrand 15-Amp White Decorator GFCI Electrical Outlet

10. Principle 6:Low Physical Effort Guideline: Allow user to maintain a neutral body position. Example: Door lever can be operated with a closed fist or elbow, unlike door knobs. Apply the example: Do you have at least one door that features a lever instead of a knob? Door lever in place of a door knob

11. Principle 7:Size and Space for Approach and Use Guideline: Provide adequate space for the use of assistive devices or personal assistance. Example: Wider doorways provide plenty of space for walker and wheelchair passage. Apply the example: Do you have doors that are at least 32” wide? Measure the door with a tape measure… is it 32” wide?

12. 15 Minute OHCE Leader Lesson: Home design for aging in place Reference: Story, M., Mueller, J.L., & Mace, R.L. The Universal Design File: Designing for People of All Ages and Abilities. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University, 1998. THANK YOU! Gina Peek, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Cooperative Extension Housing and Consumer Specialist