HOME INJURIES OF PEOPLE OVER AGE 65 - RISK PERCEPTIONS OF THE ELDERLYAND OF THOSE WHO DESIGN FOR THEM

Within the framework of behavioral decision theory, this research comp ares the risk perceptions of gerontological design professionals to th ose of older adults (>65 years old) for injuries among older adults in volving 18 consumer products or architectural features within the home . The accuracy of these risk judgments is determined by comparison wit h national statistics for emergency-room treated injuries involving sp ecified products and features. Neither design professionals who design for the elderly nor older adults themselves are particularly accurate in their home injury risk estimation. The two groups do differ in ris k perception accuracy concerning certain products. The 'availability b ias' is examined as a possible explanatory variable, to explain differ ences in risk perception between the two groups. Availability is opera tionalized as past experience with injuries to older people involving the specified terms. There is evidence that experience partially media tes between-group differences in the case of over-estimated risk. The under-estimation of risk was also examined. Under-estimation analyses revealed that level of experience completely mediates between-group di fferences in several eases of under-estimated risk. Characteristics of products and architectural features consistently over- or under-estim ated are examined as well. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited