10 Ways Accessible Design Can Help Everyone in the House

Accessible design is installing assistive devices such as ramps or bars for bathing that help people with physical difficulties complete tasks of everyday living.  Below are ten ways accessible design can help everyone.

  1. These types of designs can reduce stress on caregivers. A study by Smith, Doty and O’Keith published in 2002, found that assistive devices takes the weight off of caregivers.
  2. It can help people become more independent. The National Foundation on Disability ran a study that found 80 percent of elderly people who used assistive devices were able to lower their dependence on other people.
  3. Accessible design can make it easier to complete everyday tasks. A report created by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Department of Aging, reported that assistive technology is important to helping people perform daily living activities such as bathing.
  4. It can increase the quality of life for people who have physical disabilities. A study titled The Impact of Assistive Technology on Formal and Informal Home Care by Wayne Anderson and Joshua Wiener published in The Gerontologist found that assistive devices reduce the need for home health care aids.
  5. It helps caregivers save money. The report by the Department of Aging also stated that even though people have to pay monthly fees to pay for certain devices it is much less than paying for in-home health care such as a nurse.
  6. Assistive devices make it easier for people to deal with the limitations of their disability. The study titled Impact of Assistive Technologies on Formal and Informal Home Care, by Wayne Anderson and Joshua Wiener, published in The Gerontologist found that a person’s functional disability declined when they used these types of devices.
  7. Assistive devices lowers the risk of injury to the person, caregiver or both. The study titled, Assistive Technologies in Reducing Caregiver Burden Among Informal Caregivers of Older Adults: A Systematic Review, wrote that these types of devices reduce the safety risk that requires physical assistant.
  8. It makes it easier for people who rely on wheelchairs to move back and forth from their home. The University of California Disability Statistics Center reported that about half of wheelchair users must use steps to enter or exit their home. A similar number reported that they have difficulty entering or exiting their home.
  9. These types of devices decrease depression in caregivers and people. In a study published in The Journal of Gerontology Series B in 2006 found that people decreased their depression by using assistive devices.
  10. Assistive devices in homes can reduce a caregiver’s fear of harm. A study titled Assistive technologies in reducing caregiver burden among informal caregivers of older adults: a systematic review by Madara Marasinghe published in a journal titled Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology found that assistive technology reduced the burden on caregivers by lessening fear as well as anxiety.