Prevention of falls in the toilet environment

Falls are a big concern that can influence the life and wellbeing of elderly people considerably. A research and design project was initiated to develop a solution to prevent falls in the toilet environment. This was done as part of the Friendly Rest Room (FRR) project, which focuses on designing better suiting (semi-)public toilet facilities for elderly people and the handicapped. Various investigations resulted in a set of recommendations for fall preventive measures in the toilet environment as a whole. The largest number of potential hazardous basic toilet actions is performed in the vicinity of the toilet bowl. The conceptual design developed next, offers the user support in that area in an innovative and appropriate way. The design consists of various components; together providing a fine-tuned allin- one support solution with an inviting appeal, representing luxury, serenity and hygiene. The next step to be taken is to perform usability tests with the design as a whole, to verify the ideas and design decisions that lead to the design. Several elementary aspects have been implemented in FRR prototypes. The results of usability tests with these functional FRR prototypes look affirmative and promising.