National research reveals that being near to friends and family is by
far the biggest factor in choosing a Home. It's not difficult to see
why having comfortable and plentiful seating is therefore so necessary.
But what should you look for in the perfect seating?
First and foremost the decision to sit in a chair is partly determined
by the ease with which an individual can sit down and get up from it.
Older adults, especially many older than 70, cannot enter and egress
chairs as easily. Many aged adults in advanced years over an age of 80
have two or more pathological afflictions -- usually including
arthritis -- and experience significant difficulty moving into and from
seating, as well as increased discomfort while they are seated.
Unfortunately, many older people while sitting feel discomfort faster
than younger people do because they do not have the cushion of tissue
over the base of the hips that they had in youth.
When seat cushions seem hard to an older person, they will build up the
surface with soft materials such as pillows, blankets, towels --
literally anything that falls to hand to make the seat comfortable.
This is usually ineffective because the problem lies in the lack of
seat suspension. Seat suspension is the use of both a spring and
damping medium working in combination to prevent bottoming or the
stopping of deflection or extension downward into the seat cushion.
Medium density polyurethane foams used as damping or cushioning
materials alleviate this problem. Meanwhile, ramming, i.e. adding
height to the profile contour of the leading edge of the seat cushion,
will help to prevent rotation of the pelvis and the shear load problem.
Another consideration that has caused difficulty in chair design and
manufacturing is the wide variation of body sizes and seated angle
preferences among male and female elderly. Men generally prefer more
recline in the back angle of a chair than do women. The difference can
be as great as 114 degrees from the horizontal for men and 103 degrees
for women. The feel difference in variation in back angle is
significant -- and differing preferences are strongly held among men
and women.
Top tips
Arm rests are a must
Arm rests should extend beyond the leading edge of the
cushion
Adjustable pitch for different likes between men and women
