Design Matters: Aging in Place

By Patrick Roden RN, PhD

 
Design is intelligence made visible.
- Alina Wheeler
 
Each year I attend the ASA conference on Aging and reoccurring themes begin to
emerge and persist throughout the week; this session remained true to form. One
mantra I picked up early; “Design is for all.”

Design on the Brain

Each of us has a brain equipped with a tightly bundled grouping of nerve cells about
the size of an apple wedge located from the top of the spinal cord into the middle of
the brain. This part of our brain contains about 70% of its estimated 200 billion
nerve cells; or a total of 140 billion cells—and is called the
Reticular Activating System (RAS).
Your RAS is a hockey goalie to consciousness—the gatekeeper screening the type
of information allowed through and filters everything else that you don’t pay
attention to. And it also hones in on what’s important to you. Buy a 1966 Mustang or
the new Adison leather large Marielle drawstring shoulder bag, and you begin to
magically see them everywhere. Why? Your RAS has now alerted your brain to bring
them to your attention.
My RAS for the conference was programmed to “DESIGN” and I was rewarded;
because design matters to an aging population.

Democratization of design 
Much of the discussion focused around “Inclusive Design” or “Universal Design” that
will accommodate all users regardless of age or level of physical functioning. More
than once I heard speakers say: “It’s not just design for the elderly, good design
helps everyone.”

Not a new idea, in fact, the barrier-free movement in the 1950s began a process of
change in public policies and design practices in response to veterans returning
from service with disabilities. The movement has evolved as the democratization of
design for all; both in structure and beautiful aesthetics.
Michael Graves, FAIA, famed designer and professor at Princeton University, became
a reluctant expert in medical equipment design when an acute neurological disease
left him unable to walk or do self-care. Graves turned this into a best-worst
experience for design that functioned better (structure) and delighted the senses
(beautiful aesthetics).
Graves was noted to have said while lying on a gurney in the hospital in the throws
of his acute illness:  “I can’t die here, it’s too ugly.”

His point speaks directly to the heart and soul of the barriers to adoption of
countless potentially life-enhancing tools. Gerontophobia (fear of aging) limits my
own mother from using a walker which would make possible ambulation to
strengthen her muscles, stimulate her brain with exercise, and facilitate balance—
and what’s most personal is most universal, she is not alone in her desire to not look
old. The sad irony is that this kind of stigma which leads to adoption-failure,
actually is a “secondary ager” which speeds up the aging process (atrophy). 

Design Matters: OMHU

Design matters with caregivers and patient outcomes; this has been well established
in the literature on environment and health effects. And with the proliferation of
new technologies for aging in place, the same barriers in design concerning both
structure and aesthetics apply.

One company, OMHU (means “with great care”) exhibited an empathetic

understanding and nonpatronizing approach to mobility aids. They’ve successfully
combined materials from the world of performance; bicycles, hockey sticks,
skateboard, and high performance athletic shoes—and from these made a cane
which delights the senses.

Emphasis is on performance; not disability and yet OMHU is not denying the need
—after all it’s a cane. They get it, and the underlying philosophy which infuses this
product is clever and evokes the will to live…and aren’t we all in this for a better
experience of aging?

Robert L. Peters said: Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values
determine the future. This is important because the demographic transition means
a future filled with more and more old people. We live in a world that will never
be young again—each generation will grow older than the one before. And I for one
would like to see more emphasis on matters of design, not as a nicety, but as a
guiding principle of gerontology; our future depends on it.  
 
See
Democratic Design
Adaptability: Universal Design Michael Graves 
Michael Graves on Medical Devices 
Michael Graves Design Group   
IDeA: Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access
Free Subscription to HealthCare Design
Universal Design:
Video #1
Video#2
Video#3 
Video#4 
Video#5
(photo senzumbrellas.com)

http://www.aginginplace.com