D Vijayalakshmi

Design and Development of Adaptive Sarees for Elderly Women D Vijayalakshmi

Old age is the last stage in the life process of an individual comprising a segment of elderly members. Aging is associated with changes in biological, physiological, environmental, psychological, behavioral and social processes. Age-related problems lead to a decline in function of the senses, increased frequency of disease & disability. This affects the activities of daily living (ADLs) of the elderly. The inability to perform ADLs results in the dependence of other individuals and/or mechanical devices to perform their basic activities. The solution to overcome the problems of the elderly in dressing is adaptive clothing. It is a type of functional clothing that enables easy dressing for people with disabilities. This book is about the difficulties faced by elderly women in dressing & undressing due to their physical disabilities. A detailed quantitative research has been done to identify the problems faced by elderly women. Adaptive sarees were designed & developed for elderly women. An qualitative research has been conducted to understand the physical & psychological comfort of the adaptive saree, degree of difficulty & ADL was also analyzed.