For nursing homes, aging-friendly renovation is a key link to improve service quality and meet the diverse needs of the elderly. For this reason, nursing homes, especially senior apartments and nursing communities, have actively explored the aging-friendly renovation of home environments and accumulated rich experience. At the same time, as the vanguard of aging-friendly renovation, nursing homes are also extending new demands in aging-friendly and smart elderly care.
Demand analysis for hardware facilities in nursing homes
- Living form
① Preference for low- and medium-rise residential buildings
In the survey, most elderly people said that they prefer multi-story residential forms. On the one hand, this is because the current generation of elderly people (those born in the 30s and 40s) are accustomed to living in low-rise or multi-story residential buildings. On the other hand, it is because many elderly people have a "down-to-earth" style, such as liking a one-story house with a yard where they can grow flowers and grass.
Compared with high-rise apartments, low- and medium-rise apartments have a more intimate relationship with the outdoor environment, and will not produce a sense of closure and loneliness in high-rise buildings; lower floors will also make the elderly feel safer psychologically. When they need to live in a high-rise apartment due to location restrictions, the elderly still hope that the floor they live on is not too high, in case the elevator cannot operate in the event of a sudden power outage, causing inconvenience in going up and down the stairs.
② Hope that each person has a room and can live nearby with friends. Due to the development of the times, the economic level and living conditions of the elderly born in the 1950s and 1960s have greatly improved compared with those born in the 1930s and 1940s, and their requirements for the living quality of retirement apartments are also correspondingly higher. When asked about the demand for suites, most elderly people born in the 1950s and 1960s said that they want to have their own living space to ensure independence and privacy.
Since many elderly people born in the 1950s and 1960s originally had larger housing areas and could sleep in separate rooms, most elderly couples tend to choose suites with two bedrooms, because sleeping in separate rooms can better ensure better sleep quality for both parties.
Other elderly couples who are used to sleeping in one room prefer a slightly larger one-bedroom and one-living room suite (about 70 square meters), believing that such a suite is more spacious and convenient for receiving guests or children to stay temporarily. Some elderly people living alone said: "If you live alone, you don't need to separate the bedroom and living space. It's very comfortable to live in a spacious single-bedroom apartment." At the same time, the elderly have more diverse needs in terms of living style. Some elderly people said that they hope to live in the same retirement apartment with old friends and old classmates, "to take care of each other and not be lonely." For example, it is best to live with friends in adjacent rooms in a unit, so that they can share the living space and avoid conflicts due to different living habits. Some elderly people also said that considering the needs of their children to stay temporarily when they come to visit, they are willing to choose a slightly larger one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment.
2. Public activity space
① Indoor public activity space is rich and diverse, open and concentrated. Rich activities are very necessary for the elderly to learn and have fun. Through research and statistics, the library, chess and card room, chorus room, public TV room, calligraphy and handicraft room are the activity spaces that the elderly most want to set up. In terms of spatial form, the elderly hope that the public activity area can be concentrated and open to form a lively atmosphere. Some elderly people also expressed that they hope that there will be places such as teahouses and roof gardens in the apartment to create a romantic atmosphere, and to hold some social activities regularly to promote communication among the elderly. This also reflects the psychological appeal of the elderly to get rid of their inner loneliness and to make new friends.
② Spacious and safe outdoor activity venues
For many young elderly people, exercising and rejuvenating their second youth are very important things in their later life. Tai Chi, group aerobics, and ballroom dancing are fitness activities that many elderly people carry out every day. The outdoor environment of the elderly apartment should arrange safe and spacious venues for these activities to facilitate and promote the elderly to carry out exercise activities.
③ Nursing and rehabilitation facilities are suitable for the elderly
Many elderly people believe that rehabilitation is more important than diagnosis and treatment for medical services in elderly care facilities. This is because most of the elderly living in elderly care facilities are older, and many of them have experienced serious illnesses, surgeries or injuries, and need special rehabilitation exercises and care. Therefore, rehabilitation facilities and rehabilitation guidance are very necessary for the elderly.
Many elderly people hope that rehabilitation facilities, hot springs, SPAs, fitness rooms, massage rooms, etc. can be set up in the apartment, and they hope that there will be special people to provide rehabilitation guidance. In combination with the special physical conditions of the elderly, appropriate adjustments should be made to the elderly when designing and selecting these health facilities, such as setting up water pressure massage facilities in hot springs, arranging fitness equipment suitable for elderly rehabilitation in fitness rooms, etc.
- Indoor physical environment
With the increase of age, the physical functions of the elderly are declining, and they have a series of unique physical and mental characteristics of the elderly, such as liking warmth, liking sunshine, and being sensitive to temperature and air. Therefore, they also put forward some requirements for the physical environment of the indoor space of the retirement apartment, including lighting, ventilation, temperature control and sound insulation.
① Desire for south-facing sunlight
According to the survey analysis, most elderly people emphasize that the room must face south. Some elderly people consider the room area and price factors, saying that as long as it is suitable for the elderly, the room area is appropriate and the price is cheap, the north direction is also acceptable.
In addition to the requirements for orientation, the elderly also hope that there will be large windows in the room to ensure good lighting. This is because the elderly's vision has declined, and they have a higher demand for light brightness, and they like brighter spaces with good lighting conditions.
② Ensure air circulation
Many elderly people say that they are prone to feeling suffocated and stuffy. In some retirement apartments, although the room windows are large, the number of windows that can be opened is small for safety reasons, which is not convenient for ventilation.
Considering this demand, in the ventilation design of the elderly's room, the layout of the flat door and window openings should be conducive to the formation of a through-hall wind path. At the same time, the number and area of the window openings can be appropriately increased to promote indoor ventilation and keep the air fresh. However, it is still necessary to take necessary safety protection measures, such as adding railings in front of low-level windowsills to prevent wheelchair collisions.
③ Hope to adopt a comfortable heating method
During the survey, we found that most elderly people are more afraid of cold and relatively heat-resistant. Many elderly people proposed that the thermal insulation performance of the room must be good. When asked what kind of heating method the elderly like, some elderly people said that they like central air conditioning and other indoor control methods that can maintain constant temperature and humidity in the room, but hope that each house can independently control the temperature and humidity.
In the survey of some residential products that use constant temperature and humidity technology, the elderly residents all said that the feeling of "four seasons like spring" at home is very comfortable. In addition, many elderly people tend to use floor heating, believing that the heat dissipation is more uniform and comfortable; others believe that radiators can be used to hang clothes, which is more convenient.
It can be seen that the elderly have different preferences for heating methods, which is related to their original living habits and regional climate.
④ Requirements for sound insulation
In the survey, the elderly all proposed that the room partition wall should have a good sound insulation effect, which is related to the characteristics of the elderly who sleep lightly and are easily disturbed. At the same time, many elderly people often turn up the volume of TV and audio equipment due to hearing loss, which can easily affect the neighbors next door.
In the design and construction, the sound insulation effect is often poor due to some negligence, such as the relative position of the socket boxes on both sides of the partition wall, the poor sound insulation quality of the door, the thin partition wall, and the sound transmission of the ventilation duct in the bathroom. These details need to be fully considered in the design and construction.
- Facilities in the suite
When we asked the elderly about their needs for equipment and facilities, they also put forward many requirements, reflecting their consideration of independence, comfort and safety, as follows:
① It is best to have your own washing machine
Most elderly people do not like to wash their clothes together with others, so they hope to have their own washing machine, and when they cannot take care of themselves, they will hand them over to the caregivers to wash them together. This requires considering the location of the washing machine and the space needs of the elderly to dry clothes indoors when designing the suite of the elderly apartment.
② Hope to have a small kitchen
Many elderly people said that when they can take care of themselves, they prefer to have a small kitchen of their own, which is convenient for heating meals, making simple porridge and soup, and meeting their special nutritional needs. At the same time, some elderly people also said that cooking can also promote communication with their children. Some elderly people say that they do not need a small kitchen in the suite, but it is advisable to set up some public kitchens with simple equipment such as microwave ovens to heat meals.
③ Meet the need for bathing
During the survey, many self-care elderly people said that bathing is a kind of enjoyment of life, and they hope to have a bathtub in the suite. But the elderly are also worried that they will slip while bathing, and the bathing space in the bathroom is sometimes not spacious enough to set up a bathtub.
Therefore, it is possible to consider setting up baths and spas in public bathrooms, which can not only meet the elderly's bathing needs, but also provide special care and assistance to ensure the safety of the elderly.
④ Sufficient storage space
During the survey, we learned that many elderly people want to move many items from their previous homes to their rooms after moving into the retirement apartments, but this often leads to insufficient storage space in the room, a messy house, and sometimes even a tripping hazard. To address this problem, the upper space in the room can be used to make wall cabinets and top cabinets, and children or staff can be asked to help take items, and the aisles can be appropriately widened to make cabinets. The basement can also be divided into some storage compartments for the elderly to place seasonal items. Sufficient storage space will make the elderly's room more spacious and comfortable.
- Surrounding supporting facilities
During the survey, some elderly people believe that the supporting facilities in the apartment are too single and cannot meet the diverse living needs of the elderly. However, certain catering, commercial and other supporting facilities around the retirement apartment can often facilitate the lives of the elderly in the retirement apartment and provide more choices for their activities. The needs of the elderly for surrounding supporting facilities can be roughly divided into the following points:
① Hope there are high-end restaurants nearby
Many elderly people expressed the hope that there are mid- to high-end restaurants near the elderly apartments, so that their children can go out for meals together when they visit. On the one hand, eating out can promote communication between the elderly and their children, and on the other hand, the elderly's children also hope to take this opportunity to change the taste for the elderly.
② There are vegetable markets, small supermarkets, pharmacies, and food stores around that are close to the needs of the elderly
During the survey, many elderly people reflected that the surrounding shopping supporting facilities are insufficient, and they hope that there will be stores that can meet the daily needs of the elderly near the retirement apartments, such as pharmacies, food stores, and supermarkets. Some elderly people who can cook by themselves hope to buy fresh vegetables directly from small vendors. The children of the elderly hope that the stores are professional, and the types of goods should be close to the needs of the elderly, so that they can buy knee pads, walkers and other goods that the elderly need very much but are difficult to buy in general stores.
③ There are ground floor shops, mid-to-high-end shopping centers or entertainment facilities for entertainment
During the survey, many elderly people hope that there will be large-scale ground floor shops or shopping centers around retirement apartments, which will make it convenient for the elderly and their children to buy things and enrich their daily lives. Some elderly children have proposed that they hope that there will be entertainment and leisure facilities around the retirement apartments or inside the facilities where they can accompany the elderly to play for a whole day, which can not only satisfy the desire to accompany the elderly to go shopping and relax, but also enhance communication with the elderly.
At present, there are few supporting facilities such as catering, commerce, and entertainment around many retirement facilities located in the suburbs. Many elderly people said: "If there are places to play around, grandchildren can come with their children and spend a weekend together as a family."
④ Need a barber shop with good skills and elegant environment
Hairdressing is an indispensable service in life, especially young people around 60-70 years old still pay attention to their appearance. Many elderly people hope that there will be a barber shop with good hairdressing skills and elegant environment around the retirement apartments.
However, the barbershops that are currently configured separately in retirement apartments often have a low frequency of use. It is possible to make full use of social resources and provide high-quality hairdressing services to the elderly through barbershops around the facilities.
⑤ Laundry is necessary
Many elderly people say that although they already have washing machines in their rooms, it is also very necessary to have laundry shops around retirement apartments, which can more conveniently send and wash coats, sheets and seasonal clothes.
Summary
In summary, when choosing to live in a retirement apartment, location and transportation, accommodation costs, medical conditions, nursing level, catering services, hardware facilities and supporting facilities are several major factors that the elderly consider. They are the basic material needs of the elderly for retirement apartments. The needs of the elderly in these aspects can be further condensed into three aspects, namely: the need to ensure safety, the need to enjoy life and the need to get rid of loneliness.
