Inclusive Design: An Approach to Adapt Homes for the Elderly

Abstract

The aging trend of the world population has increased the number of elderly people. Older people prefer to spend most of their time at home. The problem is that today's homes are often unsuitable for the elderly and the disabled. Thus, problems of the current design approaches, which are based on percentiles as well as the tendency to involve the elderly and disabled people in society, have put the concept of inclusive design into consideration. Application of new design approaches, such as inclusive design allows designers to design products and services to meet the needs of a larger group of users regardless of their age and ability. Given the rapid aging of the world population, more research is needed to design specific products and environments for elderly people. Keywords: Home design, Aging, Ergonomics, Adaptation