A study on development of suitable healthcare equipment for aged people at their homes - Toward efficiency and reduction of the homehelpers' labor in healthcare

Concerning the development of suitable healthcare equipment for a aged people at their homes in order to reduce the labor and increase the efficiency in the homehelpers' work, we conducted a study on the actual conditions of healthcare in Kyoto city (healthcare in taking a meal and excretion, moving and taking a bath by using a hand-powered lift, moving by a wheelchair, shower carrier healthcare, assistance in body care and housework) by digital video filming, interviews and layout investigations. On the base of those investigations by using methods for analysis of video pictures, we divided the healthcate work into scenes and e exctracted the main problems in terms of health care equipment, information, environment, healthcare skills, mental burden, social s system, family burden, ete. Furthermore the questionnaire survey of home helpers (18 persons - 50% answers) clarified that more than half of them have lumbago pains and the biggest load in the everyday healthcare c comes from moving the patients or getting them into or out of t the equipment for moving. Finally we considered concrete proposals appropriate for each h healthcare scene image, based on evaluation toward efficiency (design guidelines) for suitable healthcare equipment for aged people at their homes: 1) Design toward a proper posture 2) Design toward self-help possibility 3) Design toward patient active participation 4) Design toward rationality of the whole process 5) Design toward place-appropriate healthcare equipment 6) Design toward healing of mind 7) Good level of healthcare skills 8) Economic, systematic rationality