Presentation
Performance and Perception on Grab Bar Configurations During Toilet Transfer by Older Adults
DescriptionToilet transfers are physically demanding daily activities for many older adults, and fixed grab bar standards may not accommodate individual differences in strength, balance, reach, and transfer strategy. In this study, we evaluated whether individualized preferred grab bar configurations improve perceived usability and objective stability compared with an ADA-based configuration during toilet transfers. Fifteen older adults completed transfer-on and transfer-off trials using a prototype smart bathroom fixture. The ADA configuration used a 19-inch toilet height, 32-inch grab bar height, and 28-inch grab bar-to-grab bar width. Participants then iteratively adjusted fixture placement until identifying their preferred configuration. Ease and comfort were rated on a 1–5 scale, and load-cell data were used to compute center-of-pressure metrics, including COPx, COPy, COP path, and ellipse area. Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests showed significantly higher ratings under preferred configurations for ease during transfer on (ADA: 4.06±1.16; preferred: 4.73±0.45; p=.026), ease during transfer off (4.13±1.06 vs. 4.73±0.59; p=.037), and comfort during transfer off (4.27±0.96 vs. 4.80±0.41; p=.039). Objective measures also showed an advantage with preferred configurations, with significantly lower COPy and COP path. Our findings support that individualized grab bar configuration improved perceived usability and reduced postural control demands.
Event Type
Lecture
TimeTuesday, October 20th11:20am - 11:40am PDT
Location
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