Physical barriers and use of technical equipment in senior citizens everyday\u27s life

Število starejših narašča, občutno pa se povečuje tudi delež starejšega prebivalstva nad 80 let. Stari ljudje si želijo ostati doma, v okolju, ki ga poznajo, kjer imajo vzpostavljene socialne mreže, vendar jih v starosti motijo arhitektonske ovire tako v ožjem kot tudi širšem bivalnem okolju. Za samostojno, varno in udobno bivanje v lastnem stanovanju pa potrebujejo tudi tehnične pripomočke. V magistrskem delu smo raziskali problem arhitektonskih ovir v zunanjem in notranjem bivalnem okolju ter uporabo tehničnih pripomočkov. Raziskovalna metodologija. Uporabljena je bila kvantitativna metodologija raziskovanja. Podatke smo zbirali z delno odprtim vprašalnikom. Raziskovalni vzorec je zajemal 80 starostnikov, starih med 65. in 80. letom, od tega je bilo 55 žensk in 25 moških. Za analizo podatkov smo uporabili statistično metodo standardnega odstotka. Rezultati. Iz dobljenih podatkov je razvidno, da večina starostnikov želi ostati v svojem domačem okolju. Zaradi starostnih sprememb starostniki potrebujejo pomoč v obliki tehničnih pripomočkov, predvsem pripomočke za komunikacijo in gibanje. Glede na potrebe potrebujejo tudi prilagoditve zunanjega in notranjega okolja ter želijo odstranitev grajenih ovir tako v zunanjem, kot tudi notranjem prostoru. Z raziskavo smo pridobili potrebne smernice za kakovost bivanja starostnika v domačem okolju. Sklep. Za kakovostno bivanje starostnikov so potrebne spremembe v zakonodajnih podlagah, spremembe v izboljšanju ponudb različnih oblik bivanja in pomoči na domu ter v kontinuiranem sistemu informiranja.ABSTRACT Percentage of elderly people in Slovenia is relatively high, and trends are showing that the number is increasing year by year. Furthermore, the percentage of people who are 80 y.o. and older is increasing as well. Senior citizens want to live in their home environment, the environment that they know, and where social networks are already established. However, the presence of physical barriers at home or/and in their living environment is greatly disturbing, therefore the usage of technical equipment is required. Research methodology. Quantitative methodology of research was used. The data was collected with partially open survey questions. Research sample included 80 senior citizens, 55 females, and 25 males, age between 65 and 80 y.o.. Standard deviation was used to measure focus on the extent to which individual value in a data set derivates from the mean of the set. Results. From the data gathered one can notice that the majority of the senior citizens want to stay in their home environment. Due to the changes that they face in that stage of life, the usage of technical equipment, especially for communication and physical activities, is essential. Moreover the results show that senior citizens need some adjustments of their inner and outdoor living environment, particularly the removal of physical barriers. In this thesis, the research regarding the physical barriers in living environment, and the usage of technical equipment was made to lay down pointers on how to increase the quality of the senior citizens life in their home environment. Conclusion. To increase the quality of senior citizens life, changes in laws as a foundation are needed. In addition offers for different types of accommodation, and home care for elderly persons need to be improved, and the system of continuous informing needs to be modified