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Delineation of House Design Guidelines for Fall Prevention of Older People

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Abstract

As the average life span becomes longer due to the development of medical technology and improving living conditions, interest in the quality of life in old age is on the increase. Health is central to a better quality of life, but the increasing healthcare costs incurred by older people are expected to become a heavy burden on society. Falls are the main external cause of unintentional injury among older people and are also responsible for a large proportion of healthcare costs. They occur frequently in the home and this has necessitated the improvement of the home environment in relation to fall prevention. Although there have been a considerable amount of studies concerning design features and guidelines, not enough research about the relationship between fall risks and the home environment has been conducted. In this context, the purpose of this study is to delineate house design guidelines for fall prevention in a comprehensive and systematic way. The main method of this study is a content analysis technique, and thirteen sources related to the environmental design for fall prevention and universal design were analysed through the content analysis. As a result, a total of 220 guidelines for fall prevention were identified and systematically arranged according to fall risk factors. These guidelines will help older people better perceive the danger of falls and will promote the improvement of housing conditions based on fall risk factors.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2008-0061908)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Interior Architecture and Built Environment, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea

    Mi Seon Jang & Yeun Sook Lee

  2. Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    Mi Seon Jang

  3. Department of Architectural Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, South Korea

    Jeong Tai Kim

Authors
  1. Mi Seon Jang
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  2. Yeun Sook Lee
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Correspondence to Yeun Sook Lee.

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Jang, M.S., Lee, Y.S. & Kim, J.T. Delineation of House Design Guidelines for Fall Prevention of Older People. Population Ageing 7, 185–215 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-014-9100-0

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