The home should represent safety and security for the person who lives there, and this is an important factor for independence and autonomy in very old age. With aging populations, the needs for long-term care increase, care provided by spouses and/or from the growing home care sector. Injuries among these groups are common. In this study, an ergonomics perspective was applied in the analysis of some basic daily activities performed by old persons and by home care workers, assisting. The postures and movements of home care staff assisting at toilet visits, and transferring persons from wheelchair to toilet, were measured and analysed. Some daily activities related to making food and washing clothes, performed by a group of persons between the age of 75 and 100, were measured and analysed. The task of getting up from the floor – on your own and with the help of a walker equipped with a lifting device – was analysed with the help of older persons and nursing staff. The design was built on the knowledge gained from analysing how older people get up from floor. Requirements for access with a four-wheeled walker in the local built environment were investigated. Observations were made with the help of video recording. Postures were recorded with the CUELA measurement system. The VIDAR ergonomics evaluation instrument was used to register the participants’ experiences of discomfort and pain during getting up from the floor with or without the walker with a lifting device. Structured interviews were used to find out about older peoples’ experience of using the four-wheel walker. It is concluded that ageing at home requires improved architectural and technical bathroom design and improved access in the local built environment. / <p>QC 20140124</p>

En av park- och gatuarbetarnas många verktyg, är den traditionella sopkvasten. Sopkvasten används för att städa upp ytor där maskiner inte kommer åt, såsom; under bänkar, i hörn och mindre områden. Vid användning av en traditionell sopkvast innefattar rörelsen rotation och framåtlutning av kroppsställningen, som kan om den utförs under en längre tidsperiod leda till muskuloskeletala besvär och ha negativa effekter på hälsan. Detta projekt syftar till att utveckla ett nytt rengöringsverktyg för att minska framåtlutad, roterad kroppsställning. Denna avhandling har använt en produktutvecklingsmetodik och en biomekanisk analys för att uppfylla en faktabas för att nå målet. Översyn av litteratur, biomekanisk analys och benchmarking användes för att ställa in kravspecifikationer för detta projekt. Projektet tillämpade David G Ullman iterativ produktutvecklingsmetodik, inklusive brainstorming, Quality Function Deployment, Morfologi, Pugh's matris och Failure Mode Effects Analysis. Vidare har en fungerande prototyp byggts som ett sista steg i utvecklingsfasen. Utvärdering av prototypen i jämförelse med den traditionella sopkvasten, utfördes med hjälp av 3D rörelseanalys (Qualisys motion capture-system) och ytelektromyografi (Mega 8-kanalsystem) på en testperson. Projektet resulterade i en fysiskt fungerande prototyp som kan användas till liknande uppgifter som en traditionell sopkvast. Prototypen påtvingar användaren att skjuta rengöringsverktyget framför kroppen med en symmetrisk kroppställning i alla tre planen. Jämförelsen mellan en traditionell sopkvast och prototypen visade en minskning i muskelaktivitet vid användning av prototypen. Dessutom visade rörelseanalysen att arbetsställningen var mindre framåtlutad och roterad i ryggen. Vidare kunde testpersonen hålla neutrala vinklar i axlar och handleder under hela utförandet av uppgiften. Märk väl att de biomekaniska analyserna enbart gjorts på en deltagare vilket inte är tillräckligt för att konstatera att prototypen bidrar till en mer hälsosam arbetsställning. / One of the park and street workers many tools, is the traditional broom. The broom is used to tidy up surfaces where machines can’t reach, such as; underneath benches, in corners and smaller areas. Using a traditional broom requires a twisted and forward leaning body posture that, if performed during an extended time period, can result in musculoskeletal problems and negative impact on the health. This project aimed to develop a new cleaning tool to reduce the forward-leaning, twisted body posture. This thesis used a product development methodology and a biomechanical analysis to fulfil, and evidence base the aim. Review of the literature, biomechanical analysis and benchmarking were used to set requirement specifications for this project. The project applied David G Ullman's iterative product development methodology, including brainstorming, quality function deployment, morphology, Pugh´s matrix and a failure mode effects analysis. Furthermore, a functional prototype was built as a last step of the development phase. Evaluation of the prototype, in comparison to the traditional broom, was performed using 3D movement analysis (Qualisys motion capture system) and surface electromyography (Mega 8 channel system) on one test person. The project resulted in a physically functional prototype that can be used for similar tasks as a traditional broom. The concept design dictates the user to push the cleaning tool in front of the body with postural symmetry in all three planes. The comparison between a traditional broom and the prototype showed a reduction in muscle activity when using the prototype. Furthermore, the movement analysis showed a working posture with less forward leaning and back rotation. Furthermore, the participant could keep neutral angles in the shoulders and wrists throughout the task. Note that, the biomechanical analyzes was only made on one test person which is not enough to conclude that the prototype contributes to a more healthy working posture.