Student looking for feedback on current project

angelahill91

Hiya,
My name is Angela and I am a University student from Cardiff, I am currently undergoing a project to design an aid to help users who have had a decrease in mobility due to ageing.

Current Project Brief:

To design an aid to help users who have had a decrease in mobility due to ageing, encouraging them to do exercise by giving them the confidence to leave their home, allowing them gain more independence and not rely as heavily on their carers. The design solution must fulfill the following requirements:

-Be simple and intuitive for the elderly to use on their own
-Able to use with restricted movement such as arthritis
-Allow them to keep doing their regular routines for as long as possible
-Enhance their ability to socialize
-Aid them to become more self reliant

It would be great to be able to receive some input from some people with arthritis for input on the brief and any ideas they have. It would also help a lot to hear the main problems users have with current mobility aids etc.

Thanks everyone!!

elnafinn

Hi Angela

I have a feeling that you may not have perused the Forum Rules before posting.

"Petitions & research
Requests for support of petitions and research projects
Arthritis Care receives many requests to actively promote campaigns/petitions and to be involved in research proposals.

Petitions
We are happy for legitimate arthritis campaigners to post information about their campaign or petition on the Arthritis Care Forum. However, we cannot promise to otherwise promote them online or offline.

We suggest that campaigners notify our campaigns team of their activities by using the email link below.

Campaigns@arthritiscare.org.uk

Researchers
Researchers must NOT post requests or links to research projects on our forum.

Academic organisations, agencies or institutions wishing to work with Arthritis Care on research projects should email the web manager with details of their request. Note: requests from individual students will not usually be considered.

WebManager@arthritiscare.org.uk"

I wish you well with your project and I am sure if you have a look around the site you will find useful information to help you with ideas.
Elna

stickywicket

Oh Angela! I'm sure you mean well but you are wrong on so many levels.

1. It isn't ageing that causes 'decrease in mobility', it's disease. Many on here are not at all old.

2. It's not usually a lack of confidence that stops us walking down the street - it's pain.

3. We don't all have carers. Some of us have to make do with husbands and friends

4. How can you have a walking aid that's 'intuitive'?

I could go on but I won't. As I said, I'm sure you mean well but there are plenty of walking aids currently on the market. What many on here require, in order to walk down the street and socialise, are new joints but, unfortunately, they get told they're not old enough for them.

You need to ask permission of Arthritis Care to do research here. I wish you well.