The most number of accidents among the elderly occured in the toilet, followed by the bathroom and the kitchen

New Sunday Times, Sonia Ramachandran

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It.s noteasybeinga golden'oldieTo encourage ageing at home, there must be a sup-portive and conducive home environment. What are theprovisions put in place to meet the needs of the elderly?Sonia Ramachandransonia@nst.com.myTHEmostnumberofaccidentsamongtheelderlyoccurredinthetoilet,followedbythebathroomandthekitchen.AccordingtoaUniversitiPutraMalaysiasurvey,theotherthreeaccident-poneareaswerethestairs,livingroomandbedroom.Thiswasthefindingsofasurveyentitled"AnElderlyFriendlyHousingEnvironmentforOlderMalaysians"headedbyDrSharifahNorazizanSyedAbdRashidofUPM'sInstituteofGerontology.Fortoilets,themajorproblemswerefoundtobesquatoilets,slipperyfloorsandtheabsenceofgrabbars.Problemswithclearanceandreachwerealsorelatedtotoiletsandbathrooms.Theobjectiveofthesurveywastohelpdesignasuitablehomeenvironmentfor theelderlybasedonthedatacollectedaswell astoexploretheapplicationsofgerontechnologyin thehomeenvironmentforindependentliving.Thesurveypolled386Malaysiansaged60yearsandoverinrandomlyselectedurbanareas.Thosepolledweregenerallyingoodhealthwithnoobviousdisability.Toencourageageingathome,thereneedstobeasupportiveandconduc~ehomeenvironment,saidSharifah."Thiscallsforbetterplannedinfrastructure,amenitiesandservices.MostMost people regard theirhomes as their haven butaccidents often occur inand around the homes.Dr Sharifah Norazizan Syed. Abd Rashidhead of UPM's Institute ofGerontologypeopleregardtheirhomesastheirhavenbutaccidentsoftenoccurinandaroundthehomes."Traditionally,saidSharifah,thetrendoftheelderlyresidingwiththeiradultchildrenisanormandthepracticeispervasiveamongMalaysianfamilies.However,shesaid,extendedfamilyhouseholdsareexpectedtobeonthedeclineinlightofmodernurbanhousingdesignsaswellastheadventofnuclearhouseholds.Today,low-andmedium-costhousesaresmall,makingthemunsuitableforextendedfamilies.Inviewofthechangingtrendsinlifestyles,needsanddemands,Sharifahsaidtherewasexpectedtobeanincreaseinthenumberof·seniorcitizenswhomighthavetoconsideralternativeformsof livingarrangement.ShesaidareviewofthepoliciesoftheHousingandLocalGovernmentMinistryrevealsthattherearenospecificprovisionstomeettheneedsoftheelderly.For townplanning,thereisalsono specificprovisionforthedevelopmentoffacilitiesfor theelderly.Local authorities,saidSharifah, lookeduponthesettingup ofhomesfor theelderlyasthesettingup ofbusinesses.Therefore,shesaid,thesearecarried outin designatedcommercialproperties.However,therewas arelaxationofthe rule allowingresidentialproperty for theuseofcaringfor theelderly,but thevalidityofthelicensingis onayear-to-yearbasiswith .theconditionbeingthereareno complaintsfrom theneighbours."A purpose-builtnursinghomewouldbeclassifiedas'institutional'."However,developmentland designatedfor'institutionaluse'havebeenrefusedbyagenciesdealingwith landmattersfor theapprovalofnursinghomes.".This wasoneoftheproblemsthatneededtobelookedinto,saidSharifah..In additiontothetypesofhomes,theelderlyalsofmditdifficulttomoveaboutinMalaysia.They (the senior citizens)said the cities were no-goareas due to the problemsof signage, lack of streetfurniture and lack of publictoilets.InanotherUPMsurveyin2005headedbySharifahentitled"Activities,AccessandAgeing",itwasfoundthatmorethan40percentoftheelderlywerehomebound.Thesurvey,donearoundKajang,showedtherewasaneedtolookseriouslyintoaccessandmobilityoftheelderlyinMalaysia."Theysaidthecitieswereno-goareasforthemduetotheproblemsofsignage,lackofstreetfurnitureandlackofpublictoilets,"saidSharifah."Othereasonsincludedpublictransport,aswellaslackofrespectbysocietytowardsthem."ThermdingshowsthattheelderlyinMalaysia renotasmobile.asthoseinothercountries,likeJapan."Sharifahsaidaculturalissuethathadtobeaddressedwastherespectshowntowardstheelderly.Forexample,shesaid,theJapaneserespectheirseniorcitizensandgivethemprivilegeslikereservedseatsinpublictransportandparkingspacesinshoppingmalls."ButinMalaysia,suchprivilegesfortheelderlyareusurpedbyothers."

It's not easy being a golden oldie

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