Ergonomic Recommendation of Suitable Toilet Seat Height for Older Thai People
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31584/jhsmr.201974Keywords:
ergonomics, older people, satisfaction, toilet seat heightAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to determine the main factors affecting older people as they rise from a toilet seat and to identify the suitable toilet seat height for this population.
Material and Methods: Data from 342 older people both male and female aged 60 years and older were used to design a mock-up toilet with a specified seat width according to the 95th percentile of hip breadth. The data of lower leg length were used to design toilet seat height levels in the second phase in another 30 older participants at 100.0%, 110.0% and 120.0% of an individual’s lower leg length (LLL). Rectus femoris and gluteus maximus muscle activity, time taken while rising, pressure under the thighs and satisfaction of the older participants were compared across three toilet seat height levels; using the repeated analysis measurements of variance. These three potential factors were then analyzed together with the prioritized factor indicated by the specialists using the Analytic Hierarchy Process.
Results: Rectus femoris muscle activity, time taken while rising, and satisfaction of the older participants in rising from toilet seat heights 100.0, 110.0 and 120.0% LLL were significantly different (p-value<0.05).
Conclusion: It was found that the suitable toilet seat height level for older people for industrial ergonomic purposes was at 110.0% LLL, which was also equivalent to the 95th percentile of male and female LLL.
References
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36. Titichattawong R. Prioritizing key importance factor for machine selection by analytic hierarchy process: a case study of jewelry factory. Pathum Thani: Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi; 2014.
37. Schecnkman M, Berger AR, Riley OP, Mann WR, Hodge WA. Whole-body movements during rising to standing form sitting. Phys Ther 1990;70:10.
38. Huston LR. Fundamentals of biomechanics. Florida: Taylor & Francis Group; 2013.
39. EIAC. Ergonomics Abstracts, Ergonomics Information, Analysis Centre SoMaME. Birmingham: University of Birmingham; 2000.
40. Amit B, James DM. Occupational ergonomics: theory and applications. New York: Marcel Dekker; 1996.
2. Brown CJ, Peel C. Rehabilitation. In: Halter JB, Ouslander JG, Tinetti ME, Studentski S, High KP, Asthana S, editors. Hazzard’s geriatric medicine and gernotology [monograph on the Internet]. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2009 [cited 2015 Jul 6]: Available from: http://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=371&Sectionid=41587636
3. Green DP, Roberts SL. Kinesiology movement in the context of activity. Missouri: Mosby; 1999.
4. Janet HC, Roberta BS. Neurological rehabilitation: optimizing motor performance. Woburn: Plant A Tree; 2000.
5. Kane RL, Ouslander JG, Abrass IB, Resnick B. Essentials of clinical geriatrics [monograph on the Internet] China:McGraw-Hill Education LLC; 2013 [cited 2015 Jul 13]. Available from: http://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.
6. Devito C. Fall injures among the elderly. Community-based surveillance. J Am Geriatr Soc 1988;18:2663-8.
7. Roque MV, Bouras EP. Epidemiology and management of chronic constipation in elderly patients. Clin Interv Aging 2015;10:919-30.
8. Mourey F, Pozzo T, Rouhier-Marcier I, Didier JP. A kinematic comparison between elderly and youg subjects standing up from and sitting down in a chair. Age Ageing 1998;9:137-46.
9. Harari D. Constipation. In: Halter JB, Ouslander JG, Tinetti ME, Studentski S, High KP, Asthana S, editors. Hazzard’s geriatric medicine and gerontology [monograph on the Internet]. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2009 [cited 2015 Jul 12]: Available from: http://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=371&Sectionid=41587711
10. Chan AHS. Preliminary design of an ergonomic self-rise armchair for hong kong elderly. Proceeding of the fifth southeast asian ergonomics society conference on human factor vision-care for the future; November 6-8, 1997; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak; 1997.
11. Galumbeck MH, Buschbacher RM, Wilder RP, Winters KL, Hudson MA, Edlich RF. The sit & stand chair. A revolutionary advance in adaptive seating systems. J Long Term Eff Med Implants 2004;14:535-43.
12. Alexander NB, Grunawalt JC, Carlos S, Augustine J. Bed mobility task performance in older adults. JRRD 2000;37:633-8.
13. Hughes MA, Myers BS, Schenkman ML. The role of strength in rising from a chair in the functionally impaired elderly. J Biomech 1996;29:1509-13.
14. Ng SSM, Kwong PWH, Chau MSP, Luk ICY, Wan SS, Fong SSM. Effect of arm position and foot placement on the five times sit-to-stand test completion times of female adults older than 50 years of age. J Phys Ther Sci 2015;27:1755-95.
15. Whitney SL, Wrisley DM, Marchetti GF, Gee MA, Redfern MS, Furman JM. Clinical measurement of sit-to-stand performance in people with balance disorders: validity of data for the five-times-sit- to-stand test. Phys Ther 2005;85:1034-45.
16. Meretta BM, Whitney SL, Marchetti GF, Sparto PJ, Muirhead RJ. The five times sit to stand test: responsiveness to change and concurrent validity in adults undergoing vestibular rehabilitation. J Vestibul Res-Equil 2006;16:233-43.
17. Tiedemann A, Shimada H, Sherrington C, Murray S, Lord S. The comparative ability of eight functional mobility tests for predicting falls in community-dwelling older people. Age Ageing 2008;37:430-56.
18. Teo TWL, Mong Y, Ng SSM. The repetitive Five-Times-Sit-To-Stand test: its reliability in older adults. Int J Ther Rehabil 2013;20:122-30.
19. Kuo YL. The influence of chair seat height on the performance of community-dwelling older adults’ 30-second chair stand test. Aging Clin Exp Res 2013;25:305-9.
20. Kernozek WT. Biomechanical aspects of the sit to stand and stand to sit during toilet seat use: effects of age and seat height on kinematic and kinetic factor. Minnesota: University of Minnesota; 1994.
21. Hurley ST, Rutherford DJ, Hubley-Kozey C. The effect of age and seat height on sit-to-stand transfer biomechanics and muscle activation. Phys Occup Ther Geriatr 2016;34:169-85.
22. Capezuti E, Wagner L, Brush BL, Boltz M, Renz S, Secic M. Bed and toilet hight as potential enviromental risk factor. Clin Nurs Res 2008;17:50-66.
23. Alexander NB, Koester DJ, Grunawalt JA. Chair design affects how older adults rise form a chair. J Am Geriatr Soc 1996;44:356-62.
24. Yamada T, Demura S. Influence of the relative difference in chair seat height according to different lower thigh length on floor reaction force and lower-limb strength during sit-tostand movement. J Physiol Anthropol Appl Hum Sci 2004;23:197-203.
25. Zemp R, Taylor WR, Lorenzetti S. Are pressure measurements effective in the assessment of office chair comfort/discomfort? A review. Appl Ergon 2015;48:273-82.
26. International standard. ISO 7250-1 Basic human body measurements for technological design part 1: body measurement definitions and landmarks. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization; 2008.
27. National Statistical Office Thailand. The population and housing census 2013 [monograph on the Internet]. Bangkok: The Office; 2013 [cited 2015 Jul 22]. Available from: http://popcensus.nso.go.th/report/WholeKingdom_T.pdf
28. Jarutat T, Ketpichayawattana C, Lohmaneenoppara S, Chalaphati K. The minimum standard study program for housing and the environment of the elderly: complete research report. Bangkok: Office of Research Fund National Health Foundation and the Office of Health Promotion Foundation; 2005.
29. Yamane T. Statistics: an introductory analysis. 3rd ed. New York: Harper and Row; 1973.
30. Sanders MS, McCormick EJ. Human factors in engineering and design. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1993.
31. McLelland I, Joan S. The ergonomics of toilet seats. Human Factors 1982;24:713-25.
32. Afifi M, Al-Hussein M, Bouferguene A. Technology applied to geriatric medicine: geriatric bathroom design to minimize risk of falling for older adults–a systematic review. Eur Geriatr Med 2015.
33. Konrad P. The ABC of EMGA Practical Introduction to Kinesiological Electromyography 2006 [monograph on the Internet]. Arizona: Noroxon U.S.A.; 2005 [cited 2016 May 13]. Available from: http://www.noraxon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ABC-EMG-ISBN.pdf
34. The European Recommendations for Surface ElectroMyo Graphy. The SENIAM project (Surface EMG for Non-Invasive Assessment of Muscles) [monograph on the Internet]. Enschede: Roessingh Research and Development; 2006 [cited 2016 May 13]. Available from: from http://www.seniam.org
35. Pilot DF, Beck CT. Nursing Reseach: generating and assign evidence for nursing practice. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott;2008.
36. Titichattawong R. Prioritizing key importance factor for machine selection by analytic hierarchy process: a case study of jewelry factory. Pathum Thani: Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi; 2014.
37. Schecnkman M, Berger AR, Riley OP, Mann WR, Hodge WA. Whole-body movements during rising to standing form sitting. Phys Ther 1990;70:10.
38. Huston LR. Fundamentals of biomechanics. Florida: Taylor & Francis Group; 2013.
39. EIAC. Ergonomics Abstracts, Ergonomics Information, Analysis Centre SoMaME. Birmingham: University of Birmingham; 2000.
40. Amit B, James DM. Occupational ergonomics: theory and applications. New York: Marcel Dekker; 1996.
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Published
2019-11-26
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Tharbthong P, Homrossukon S, Piriyaprasarth P. Ergonomic Recommendation of Suitable Toilet Seat Height for Older Thai People. J Health Sci Med Res [Internet]. 2019 Nov. 26 [cited 2024 Nov. 26];38(1):25-34. Available from: https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jhsmr/article/view/226923
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