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- Title
Designing for Bariatric Care: Toilet Aid Design.
- Authors
Maruyama, M. Michiko; Lei, Winnie; Hill, Jenna; Ching, Celia
- Abstract
As described by the World Health Organization, "Obesity is a complex condition, one with serious social and psychological dimensions, that affects virtually all age and socioeconomic groups and threatens to overwhelm both developed and developing countries." In order to better understand the social and psychological circumstances faced by the bariatrics community, our design team reached out and communicated with individuals through online obesity support groups. With their input and the clinical experience of the occupational therapists on the design team, we were able to identify a need within the bariatric community. Individuals stressed the need for a portable peri-anal care device that can be used outside the home or hospital environment to help them feel more independent. The quotes below were gathered from members of the online support group, www.dailystrength.org: "For some people, the inability to reach, a simple yet essential task, might very well be the pivot point between being a functionally mobile obese person versus Gilbert Grapes' mother. The people stuck in their beds did not purposely lay down one day and just never got up. They stop leaving their houses first… And they continued to gain weight." "I try not to drink any liquids because I do not want someone to help me when I need to use the washroom." Current toilet aid devices are large and bulky making them unsuitable for portability. The user must wrap a large amount of toilet paper around the device. In public washrooms, the toilet paper may not be appropriate for current toilet aids. Also, cleaning the toilet aid in public or at home might be difficult for some users. To address this design problem, the team developed the Flushable Toilet Aid, a disposable personal care device designed to assist those with limited range of motion in performing peri-anal hygiene. The team researched various material choices and took into consideration ergonomics and portable functionality throughout the design process.
- Subjects
BARIATRIC surgery; OVERWEIGHT persons; OBESITY &; psychology; SUPPORT groups; HYGIENE
- Publication
UBC Medical Journal, 2011, Vol 2, Issue 2, p26
- ISSN
1920-7425
- Publication type
Abstract