A Study on Ergonomic Requirements and Design Considerations of Manufacturing Bath Chair for Elderly People

The bathroom is one of the most accident-prone areas in any house due to its less free space and wet surface, and in the case of an accident, the injured person would not have access to immediate help. A limited study has been conducted on facilities required for the elderly during bathing in India. A successful study has been conducted to analyze the bathing practice of the elderly population and a test bench has also been designed to test the user requirement of the elderly. The most of survey population (73.9%) prefer to bathe outside the washroom, i.e., bathing in public. The bathing practices of half of the study population show the utilization of conventional means of bathing, rather than using hand or head showers. None of the participants reported other modes of bathing, such as bathtub or bed bath. Further, major survey pupation (67%) also reported regarding using assistance during bathing. About 33% of the population also reported accidents in the washroom. Elders have also suffered from knee pain, which causes them trouble in bathing in a standing position. They faced problems during entry and exit from the bath chair. A test bench was designed and manufactured successfully to identify a comfortable position for the elderly population. The study reported that using a handrail is advisable, and the upright position is quite helpful for the user to enter and exit from the chair.