Methodology for Validation of Housing Standards – the Kitchen as an Example 1,2 Tina Helle, Reg. OT and Doctoral Student 1 Susanne Iwarsson, Reg. OT, PhD, Professor 3 Åse Brandt, Reg. OT, PhD, senior researcher 1 Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden 2 Department of Occupational Therapy, University College Northern Denmark, Aalborg, Denmark 3 The National Board of Social Services, Odense, Denmark

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Housing standards addressing accessibility are of importance to…. Persons with functional limitations Designers Society at large The standards play a crucial role!

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Knowledge gaps The knowledge informing the standards…………… is seldom research-based is often based on single aspects of accessibility (e.g. reach) is outdated There is a call for…………. Methodological development to optimize the knowledge informing the standards to improve the validity of standard definitions VALIDITY = the standard definitions actually assist the person’s activity performance in real environments

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Accessibility versus universal design Accessibility Adaptation of the environment to meet the special needs of people with functional limitations Compliance with the standards Universal design Designing environments that can be used by everyone (one population, different characteristics) A philosophy of social inclusion

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Study aim To explore an activity-based approach to nurture the methodological advancement targeting the validity of housing standards addressing accessibility

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Method and material 30 participants ≥ 60 years of age- 10 not using devices - 10 using rollator - 10 using wheelchair The participants made lunch/coffee in a kitchen designed according to current standards. Accessibility problems were observed during the activity. Hereafter an interview questionnaire was administered.

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Results – observation/self-report (n=10)

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Results – no significant difference between the observation and self-report data (N=30) Observation The new knowledge occurred on the basis hereof Self-report For particular aspects of accessibility e.g. space, it may be relevant to combine the methods “Although I could get around in the kitchen, I felt scantly of space!”

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Results – activity-based methodology The mobility devices formed part of the activity; e.g. for transportation purposes The environment not only constituted a barrier, but was a facilitator too; e.g. kitchen table Some standards do not reflect the way in which older people interact with the environment; e.g. space by domestic appliances There is lack of standards; e.g. for closing the door Overall validity = poor implications for accessibility

Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments, Lund University Conclusions We propose an activity-based approach It is important to investigate the interaction between: person, mobility device, environment and activity accessibility The assessment of the frequency and extent of accessibility problems have shown to be applicable for the examination of the validity of the standards – level of details Observation is a relevant method to capture accessibility - however, we encourage further explorations of information gathered by different methods A critical review of the relevance of existing standard definitions as well as trying to find ways of identifying those still lacking is suggested The results support a revision of standards

Thank you for listening! The study was funded by The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, the Norrbacka-Eugenia Foundation and the Ribbing Foundation, Sweden, the Danish Association of Occupational Therapy and the University College Northern Denmark.