Elderly Challenge - Observation 4

Recently, I have observed that public transports are getting crowder these days. As there are limited seats, an elderly would not get a chance to sit down. Even with the reserved seats, younger people would not even bother about the elderly and would just take up the seats. Many elderly people would then be left with no choice but to stand. If their journey is very long, it would affect their knee bone and their muscles would ache. Standing up on the MRT would also increase the chances of them falling down when the MRT breaks.




This picture is taken in the afternoon. If we place an elderly in this scenario where by she/he has just entered the MRT and have no place to seat, how would he/she feel? This would also affect the good reputation of Singapore. In my opinion, I think that there should be more reserved seats. Anyone who does not fit the purpose of these seats and still seats on them will be fined. This action would then help the elderly.

JJ(:

Elderly Challenge - Observation 3

Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fractures. A small fall can result in complications such as hip fracture. Therefore, some elderly are afraid to go out of the house. They have the fear either because they have injured themselves before and do not want to take the risk of getting hurt again or they have heard of the severity of falling. However, not going out of the house will also affect their health. Hence, we have to improve places like the shopping centre or a public park, to make the facilities elderly-friendly to ensure that they are safe.

The floor tiles in corridors are often slippery. This would increases the risk of the elderly falling down. I think that we should change the tiles into non-slippery ones to ensure their safety. This would build up their confidence in stepping out of the house. Walking around corridors can also be a form of exercise, which would improve the elderly's health condition.

JJ(:

Elderly Challenge - Observation 2

I have observed that the visually impaired elderly cannot really see the signs in a shopping mall. When I went to a a shopping with my grandmother, she had problems seeing the signs and arrows as she is visually impaired. From my point of view, I think that they should increase the size of the words so that it will suit the elderly. Besides, sometimes the visually impaired elderly would not even notice the signs. Maybe some bright lightings would capture their attention.

To be able to get a clear view of this sign, I had to come so close. Imagine placing a visually impaired elderly in this situation. Wouldn't it be even hard for he/she to see the sign? Another thing is that the arrows can be a bit confusing. Shouldn't all the arrows pointing in the same direction be on the same side? Putting the MRT on the right side is the wrong choice. This would only confuse the people further. So, to suit the elderly, the MRT, Food Court and Supermarket Sign should be on the right while the Bus Interchange Sign should be on the left to avoid confusion.

JJ(:

Elderly-Friendly Room

Overview of the Elderly- Friendly Room.

This is a small refrigerator. All the drinks and food are kept inside.

This is a microwave. It helps the elderly in re-heating cooked food so that he/she does not need to cook it himself/herself.

This is a machine that allows the elderly to exercise. This would be more convenient as the elderly does not need to go out of the room. All the elderly has to do is to step on this machine and start exercising, just like walking on the road.

This is a closet. It has many drawers. This allows the elderly to separate his/her stuff so that he/she will not forget where the items are. It is also near the sofa so the elderly does not need to move around too much.

This is a long and comfortable sofa. There is a pillow on it. This makes it more comfortable for the elderly when he/she is watching the television.

This TV is stuck on the wall. It is huge so that they visually impaired elderly would be able to see the screen clearly.

All this equipments suits the elderly. So, this is the ideal Elderly- Friendly Room!~

JJ(:

Elderly Challenge - Observation 1

I have observed that the elderly have problems walking. They either walk very slowly, or they cant even walk. This would make it hard for them to get from places to places easily. When walking, the elderly tend to get tired very easily. Therefore, they would take breaks after walking only a short distance. Even if they take public transport, it may be very crowded and they might not even get a seat as the other passengers might not be willing them up. Like this, taking the public transport will not be much better than walking as the elderly would still have to stand.

This picture shows an escalator. This escalator is not working due to some technical problems. If an elderly had to go up to the second level, it would be hard as he/she will have to find a lift or another escalator. Besides, the signs at the mall is too small. An elderly may have troubles finding a lift or escalator. So, in conclusion, I think that they should build some slopes in the mall so that it would be elderly friendly.

However, space is a big problem. As Singapore is a small country, the amount of space given is limited. Building slopes takes up a big amount of space, which is probably why people do not build them. But when there is a power failure or faulty in the lightnings, slopes would then come in handy.

JJ(: