Ergonomic analysis of washing machines for elderly people: A focus group-based study

Abstract

Household appliances are especially important for elderly people living in homes. However, current manufacturers and designers of home appliances do not consider elderly people much more when pursuing new technology and new products. This study investigated the ergonomic problems for elderly people in the use of washing machines. Four focus groups with 31 Chinese elderly participants were conducted to explore four main topics: 1) Inconveniences and difficulties in the use of washing machines, 2) suggestions for the improvement of current washing machines, 3) demands and intentions for the functions of washing machines, and 4) human-machine interface design and user preferences for washing machines. The semi-structured script and open-ended questions could make the participants fully discuss the topics and express their opinions, and also allowed researchers to get a deep understanding of user's ideas. The results showed that using focus group method could get detailed insights of many ergonomic problems for elderly people, which could provide needed information for planning the development and design of more ergonomic washing machines considering elderly people. Relevance to industryMore and more household appliances with new technology and new functions have entered our daily life. However, the characteristics and needs of elderly people are often neglected. This paper can provide guidelines and references for the inclusive design of washing machines and other household appliances.