Purpose: Stairways into buildings present a significant environmental barrier for those with mobility impairments, including older adults. A number of home access solutions that allow users to safely enter and exit the home exist, however these all have some limitations. The purpose of this work was to develop a novel, inclusive home access solution that integrates a staircase and a lift into one device.
Method: The development of an integrated staircase lift followed a structured protocol with stakeholders providing feedback at various stages in the design process, consistent with rehabilitation engineering design methods.
Results: A novel home access device was developed. The integrated staircase-lift has the following features: inclusivity, by a universal design that provides an option for either use of stairs or a lift; constant availability, with a lift platform always ready for use on either level; and potential aesthetic advantages when integrating the device into an existing home. The potential also exists for emergency descent during a power outage, and self-powered versions.
Conclusions: By engaging stakeholders in a user centred design process, insight on the limitations of existing home access solutions and specific feedback on our design guided development of a novel home access device.
Keywords: Home access; accessibility; independent living; lift; universal design; user-centred design.