Developing a roadmap for evaluating environmental and furniture in the home of elderly

Abstract

Diffi culties with advancing age brings refl ections on the manipulation of the environment, especially at home. The
care of the environmental assessment requirements are important, but there are still a few scales to be used in Brazil. The objective was to develop a checklist to assess spatial conditions of residence for the elderly. The instrument, made in two parts, was tested at the residence of 12 elderly aged 60 and 75 years, and noted diffi culties in fi lling the need for adjustments. The theoretical part of the fi rst were the parameters of the Brazilian Accessibility NBR 9050 (ABNT, 2004), and the second part of the questionnaire adapted by Ferrer et al. (2004) and measures the sitting position
described by Chaffi n, Anderson and Martin (2001). The results indicate that the fi nal version of the checklist provides a summary investigation and easy fi lling, which contains general data about the physical environment (fi rst part) and information about securities and anthropometric measurements of the elderly (second part). Besides viewing relevant topics, presents recognized criteria for accessibility, making it a tool for professionals assess aspects involving safety and functionality in residence, and to direct the
actions of environmental adaptation.