Case Study

Susan Tan, 74 years old, she has difficulty walking as she had fallen once in the bathroom and had her operation a few weeks ago. She lives in a one room flat with her daughter.

In the day time, she is alone at home as her daughter has to work and her husband had already passed away. She has to depend on the walking stick in order for her to move around. Whenever she uses the bathroom without anyone help, she can spend up to 10 minutes.

After the researcher gathered all the information, the researcher says that the problem casing the accident to happen was due to aging which leads to decreased mobility and flexibility in the joints, and the act of sitting and standing at the toilet puts the body in an unbalanced position, which can make falling more likely.

For senior citizens, using the toilet can be one of the most difficult and worrisome elements of the bathroom experience. In general, the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house for seniors; it has many slippery surfaces, sharp edges and involves a lot of motion in order to be utilized correctly.

Using the bathroom requires seniors to shift their weight and move from a seated to a standing position, which can cause them to lose their balance easily. Additionally, many medications and diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s can affect balance and make it even harder for seniors to control their balance at the toilet. To prevent accident from happening, a well-designed toilet for elderly has to be made.