Ten things about'''stairs'

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Ten things about...stairs.
Ethnographic Research Unit 1st April 2009
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Stairs and Functional Space
The staircase in the home is not just a
functional space
Daughter wants new bathroom upstairs, one
down. I am not sure
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Stairs and Coping
Sometimes stairs are too much of an
obstaclePeople have their own coping
mechanisms. She also told me chuckling, that
sometimes when they come home Archie needs to use
the bathroom quite urgently. If he cant get
upstairs he likes to use the garden.
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Stairs as Barriers
Some people accept that stairs can be a bit
of a barrier and adapt their daily activities
accordingly. Sheila says her knees get very
stiff, she is not steady on her feet particularly
first thing. She feels dizzy when she gets up in
the morning She spends most of the day
downstairs
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Stairs , Design Changing Needs
Older house design and layout make it difficult
to adapt to changing needs. Im getting
nervous about having a shower but I do a
couple of times in the week and the shower is in
my bedroom because we had no place to put it Of
all the space in this house weve no place else.
Because the shower is downstairs isnt it?
Everything else is upstairs.
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Stairs as part of everyday routines

Stairs are integral to everyday routines that are
often taken for granted. Risky behaviour may be
overlooked. Before the knee replacement I had
a bad fall down the stairs at home whilst
carrying a heavy book.  
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Stairs What would you improve?
    Who decides what is the most appropriate
design for stairs. I am unsteady, I could
stumble but not necessarily fall but I have to be
very careful and what Im doing and watch where
Im going you know and things like that. I
suppose the stairs would be the most, you know
worst place because when I havent anything to
hold onto. You see we were getting a stair lift
there one time but the doctor didnt approve of
it.
What would you add to improve the stairs? hand
rails, lift, read (height, width)
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Stairs and Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology is useful but may still need
negotiation by the person. I came down the
stairs on the chairlift the same as any other
morning and got off the chairlift and it stopped
and just a fuzzy feeling, my eyes and just
something different, sort of a different feeling
and I went over from where the chair had stopped
over to the rad(iator) to hold onto something and
felt the rad(iator) moving away down the hall but
sure I was going into a faint wasnt it you know
so I fell on the
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Stairs and Keeping Fit
Using stairs as a form of keeping fit
Well, going for a walk Im always haunted by a
medical examination I had done by a famous heart
surgeonhe feared for my sedentary lifestyle
because I wasnt out playing football or doing
badminton. I wasnt doing anything like that
So, I remembered those words and when I retired I
tried not to take the lift as I aged...Id use
the stairs and things like that and when I
retired I thought well I should really be doing
something.
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The purpose

• a monthly e-mail publication from the ERU,
  presenting incidental information observed during
  ethnographic encounters.
•   exploring incidental information about older
  persons homes and their local environs, and
  older persons experiences of using technology
  and everyday objects and props.
• sharing information to all TRIL  members on
  regular basis, providing on-going reflections on
  how older persons interact with their
  environment.
• stimulating  Cross-Strand innovation, interest
  and ingenuity concerning older persons and their
  objects, homes and technologies.
• Ten Things is a concept, not about quantity.

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Contact details
10thingsabout_at_gmail.com. Ethnographic Research
Unit TRIL/Irish Centre for Social
Gerontology National University of Ireland
Galway Special thanks to Ben Dromey for design
input