Analysis and improvement of an innovative solution through risk reduction: Application to home care for the elderly

Abstract

The increase in the number of elderly people requires multiple efforts to maintain their well-being and health. A wide variety of products and services have been created to enable seniors to live at home for as long as possible. The market success of these solutions depends on acceptance by the different stakeholders. Older people are reluctant to change their environment, most notably their home. Solutions must provide a benefit and/or reduce risks related to their everyday life in order to be accepted. Design methods are mainly focused on needs analysis, while acceptability assessment models are based on the study of benefits. A need may also correspond to a risk that may be present in the initial situation and that has to be eliminated or reduced. The notion of risk is not sufficiently integrated in these models. This paper proposes a new approach to analyze the actual situation of elderly people at home based on risk analysis. The objective is to contribute to the design of solutions that will be more readily accepted by this population. A model for estimating the risk of falling has been proposed. The probability of two elderly people falling in their home is assessed using this model. The design and improvement of solutions are explored using the results obtained.