Senior-Friendly Infrastructure | Grab Bars

No one is immune to falls. But, the elderly are the most vulnerable when it comes to falls and serious injuries caused by it. Senior-friendly infrastructure is a relatively new concept in the construction realm. Slippery fails, especially  toilet accidents, can be controlled to a large extent with senior-friendly infrastructure facilities. However, with such kind of progressive and thoughtful infrastructure, the elderly will be able to lead an active life even during their senior years.

According to a survey conducted in the year 2017 by the United Nations Population Funds (UNPFA), India’s ageing population has tremendously increased in recent years. The proportion of elderly was 8.6% in the year 2011. It is expected to reach 12.5% by the year 2030 and by 2050, 19% of the total population will be seniors. It is important for us to come up with better living conditions to make the lives of the seniors comfortable. For the same reason, senior-friendly infrastructure has become a necessity than a luxury now. 

One such addition is grab bars. Simple yet hugely effective. Grab bars play an important role in senior-friendly infrastructure. They provide better and extra grip to the users. They can be played vertically and horizontally according to the requirement. Grab bars give a feeling of safety to the seniors while moving around independently. There are grab rails as well. They ensure support when they try to get up or to steady themselves while they walk, stand up, or while they are in the middle of both.

Grab bars are the most important element in a senior-friendly living setup, especially bathrooms. Installing them in the bathroom walkthrough prevents the elders from slipping. Some people use towel bars for the same purpose which can turn out to be even more dangerous as towel bars are not designed to hold the weight of a person. Elders might have to stay on toilet seats for more time due to age-related health problems. Installing vertical grab bars at an accessible distance from the main door will also provide them with a support while opening the doors. 

But the problem is that most of the house designs don’t have sufficient provision to install such secure grabs. However, senior living spaces, like Primus, come with the concept of intelligent home design where the spaces are created in a way that makes the seniors most comfortable. Rooms to benches to gyms, everything is designed in a senior-friendly manner. For example, gyms are equipped with specially-imported hydro-pneumatic exercise machines that adapt to the physical strength of individuals. Similarly, bathrooms are designed with safety seats, grab bars, and hand showers to make life easy for the seniors. Even the furniture comes with rounded edges to ensure that the seniors don’t accidently bump into it and hurt themselves. Bedrooms, as well, have beds that are designed at a height that ensures zero strain on the joints while they sit or sleep.

Seniors have their own limitations. But we can always make their life better with small changes. Equipping their living spaces or buying them places that already have senior-friendly infrastructure is one such kind of small change. After all, the desire to move around independently during the senior years is not actually a luxury, right?