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Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technologies to Support Aging-in-Place for People with Long-Term Disabilities

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Author: Sanford, Jon × Author: Mahajan, Harshal P. ×

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    Universally Designed mHealth App for Individuals Aging with Multiple Sclerosis
    (IARIA, 2018) Ruzic, Ljilja ; Mahajan, Harshal P. ; Sanford, Jon
    Multiple Sclerosis (MS) presents with chronic symptoms that share many of the functional limitations associated with aging. Additionally, following the period of five years post-diagnosis a large number of individuals diagnosed with MS experience a major decline in their abilities due to the progression of MS. Consequently, they need to learn how to cope with the functional limitations caused by the disease and in addition to those caused by aging. These individuals have to manage the effects of the disease on their lives every day. mHealth apps provide potential support for disease self-management. However, the number of mobile apps design specifically for individuals with MS is inadequate. Additionally, there is no evidence that utility and usability of these current consumer mobile apps were tested with their target population. This research paper describes the design of the mHealth app MS Assistant, an evidence-based app that provides the daily support and self-management of the disease to individuals aging with MS. It was developed based on the Universal Design Mobile Interface Guidelines, UDMIG v.2.1 and the results of the two previous studies that assessed the health and wellness self-management needs in individuals with MS and tested the usability of current mHealth apps. The paper presents an app refinement based on the suggestions of the expert reviewers who tested the effectiveness of the implementation of the UDMIG v.2.1 in the app design and provided possible recommendations for its redesign.
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    SmartBathroom: Developing a smart environment to study bathroom transfers
    (RESNA, 2017) Jones, Brian D. ; Pandey, Shiva ; Presti, Peter ; Taylor, Russell ; Natarajan, Prasanna ; Mahajan, Shambhavi ; Mahajan, Harshal P. ; Sanford, Jon
    Individuals’ functional abilities change over time; they increase and then decrease over the lifespan, and in some they may fluctuate over the course of a day. While these fluctuations may not impact one’s ability to engage in daily activities, they can be problematic for people aging with disability or a progressive chronic condition such as arthritis or multiple sclerosis, particularly when performing toilet or shower/bath transfers. Although various assistive technologies (AT) and environmental modifications are designed to facilitate bathroom transfers, they are static solutions, selected to match an individual’s ability at one point in time rather than providing a dynamic environment that can adapt to support changing abilities. The SmartBathroom Laboratory is being developed as part of the RERC TechSAge as a highly sensed, adjustable residential bathroom environment to accommodate a wide variety of research studies on task performance during bathroom transfers. These studies will focus on identifying the problems faced by people with functional limitations as they age as well as on exploring viable solutions to these problems. In this paper, we describe design and engineering requirements, challenges, and choices in the development of the SmartBathroom Laboratory.
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    Analysis Of The Effect Of A Rear Wall Grab Bar Configuration On The Fall Risk Associated With Toilet Transfers In Older Adults With Mobility Impairment
    (RESNA/NCART, 2016) Sanath, Achyuthkumar A. ; Mahajan, Harshal P. ; Gonzalez, Elena ; Sanford, Jon ; Fain, W. Brad
    Twenty-three older adults were recruited for a two-hour in-home study. As a part of the process, the researchers asked questions regarding their process for toilet transfer, asked to provide ratings about toilet transfer in terms of their levels of confidence, difficulty, and how much more challenging it has become with age and with their permission, took photographs of their toilets. The objective of this project is to conduct a secondary analysis of this photographic and interview data to test our hypothesis that the presence of a grab bar on the rear wall prompted older adults to stretch, in order to reach for it across the toilet, consequently increasing the fall risk. The analysis showed us that the presence of a rear wall grab bar, though perceived to ease transfers, might actually prove more challenging to perform transfers with. The rear wall grab bar might only provide an illusion of safety. The results from this analysis may help guide future research undertakings to understand the relationship between a grab bar’s configuration and the risk of falling.