HUMAN-FACTORS DESIGN FOR THE ELDERLY AT T HE CROSSROAD BETWEEN PERSONAND ENVIRONMENT

The competence model of aging emphasizes transactions between the pers on and his/her environment. Adaptation of the environment to the perso n's resources gets equal status to the adaptation of the person to env ironmental demands. This becomes relevant for persons in need of help and care. Adapting their environment leads to a reduction of their env ironmental docility. It also becomes relevant for persons with higher potentials: Optimizing their environment contributes to environmental proactivity. For all groups, an increase of quality of life is correla ted to optimized environments. While human factors design has created favorable conditions in the work place for many persons, it has not be en applied often to the construction of home environments and to the p roduction of equipment for everyday use. Results from a study on ''Cha nces for and limitations of independent life in old age'' are presente d. They prove that elderly people in the new states of the Federal Rep ublic of Germany not only differ from those in the old states with reg ard to the help and care they need. In the new states. environmental f actors contribute considerably to limitations of independent life. Pot entials of an optimally designed environment for the reduction of help and care are utilized even less in the eastern states of Germany than in the west. Arguments for the design of furniture, equipment for com munication and transportation, etc. are presented which emphasize ergo nomic principles. They require that products should be adapted to the sensory potentials of their users, that they should allow an understan ding or an easy cognitive processing of their functions and that they should match the motor potentials of persons handling them. In short, products should be designed for a use that matches the ''human model'' as closely as possible. Thus, they will contribute to enhance the env ironmental proactivity of elderly people.