Is elderly care aids really suitable for the elderly? Consumer Experience Project Report Released by China Consumers Association Engineer | Appliance | Experience

As of the end of 2022, the population of elderly people aged 60 and above in China is about 280 million, accounting for 19.8% of the total population. The silver economy has become increasingly popular in recent years. In recent years, a variety of elderly care assistive devices and aging friendly products have gradually integrated into the daily lives of the elderly. Consumers have expanded their impression of elderly care assistive devices from traditional wheelchairs and crutches to a wider range of fields. However, are these products truly "age friendly"?

This week, the China Consumers Association released a report on the consumption experience of elderly care assistive devices. The report shows that some elderly care assistive devices currently sold in the market have poor quality, high premiums, and functional shortcomings that urgently need to be improved.

The consumer experience project for elderly care accessories organized by the China Consumers Association this time selected a total of 50 samples for evaluation, including 9 types of products: assistive driving, electric wheelchairs, climbing machines, transfer machines, mobile toilets, turning care devices, toilet boosters, toilet armrests, and shower chairs.

The testing agency for the consumption experience project of elderly care assistive devices, also known as the evaluation engineer of the China Home Appliance Research Institute, told reporters that for elderly consumers, ensuring the safety of device use is the most basic requirement, especially for assistive walking devices.

The evaluation engineer introduced that the 6 batches of auxiliary driving samples for this evaluation, priced from 299 yuan to 2180 yuan, were all purchased from e-commerce platforms and basically covered the best-selling major brand products in the market. The reporter saw at the testing agency that during the evaluation process, 12 recruited experience personnel imitated the use of samples in different application scenarios according to the guidance and requirements of the evaluation engineer, and then scored the samples based on their actual satisfaction with the experience. Satisfaction is divided into 5 levels, with a minimum score of 1 and a maximum score of 5. In terms of security evaluation, it includes two aspects: stability and appearance safety.

There are many categories of assistive walking equipment, among which the application scenarios of assistive driving are the most extensive, so safety is also more concerned by elderly consumers. But when the reporter was filming at the evaluation agency, the evaluation had not yet officially started, and an accident occurred with the sample labeled as number 3.

The evaluation engineer believes that improper selection of materials for key parts is the main reason for the overturning of sample 3 during normal use.

The evaluation engineer introduced that the pursuit of lightweight and high flexibility by production enterprises is another important factor that leads to poor stability of some driving assistance products and affects their safety performance.

Liu Mengxin, an evaluation engineer at the China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute: Products with relatively light net weight may still move when the car is braked. For example, when an elderly person wants to sit down and rest, they are already in a state of braking the car. When they sit down, they will use this force and then sit down. This process may cause the assistive vehicle to move forward, and the elderly person may experience sitting empty.

The evaluation engineer explained that some elderly people choose assisted driving because their walking function, balance function, and reaction function are not very good. Therefore, from a safety perspective, the design of driving assistance must be concise. For example, some samples have brake cables running outside, which can easily cause tripping.

It is understood that among the 6 batches of auxiliary driving samples evaluated this time, none of them received a full score of 5 in terms of safety performance stability. The highest average score is 4.6, while sample 3 and another lighter weight sample only have 3 points.

In order to provide more accurate, authoritative, and scientific guidance for the actual purchasing behavior of elderly consumers, the China Consumers Association has highlighted the "Product Selection Points" in the experience report, with some key points regarding assisted driving as shown in the figure:

The safety risks of unstable electric wheelchairs are more prominent

In addition to assisting with driving, electric wheelchairs have also become a means of transportation for many elderly people in recent years. However, currently electric wheelchairs are still relatively "fresh" products for elderly consumers, and there are no specific reference standards when purchasing, which has led to many hidden dangers in the subsequent use process. During the testing process, the reporter also found that compared to assisted driving, the safety risk of unstable electric wheelchairs is more prominent.

The reporter saw at the testing site that after repeatedly testing the sample, the test personnel provided feedback on their experience to the testing engineer.

Experient: First of all, when getting into a wheelchair, this foot pedal is also very inconvenient when put away. After putting it down, from both sides, it is not particularly convenient for elderly people. And also, the backrest of this model is relatively low, and the back is not fully fitted, making it slightly unsafe to lean back.

The reporter noticed that compared to the comfort experience, the most feedback from experienced personnel is the safety of electric wheelchairs.

Liu Mengxin, a testing engineer at the China Household Electrical Appliance Research Institute, said that for some products, elderly people may feel that the directional control of this joystick is not very precise when using it. For example, if he wants to move forward, but the elderly person may not be able to control it properly, he will move a little to the right or left, and it will not achieve the goal of the elderly person moving forward, but will deviate to the right or left. Then there is another issue, there are several electric wheelchairs. For example, when we want to stop for a period of time and start again on an uphill, it may experience a slight backward sliding, which elderly people may feel is not very safe.

The evaluation engineer introduced that compared to traditional manual wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs have faster speeds and are even used by some elderly consumers as a means of transportation for the elderly. Therefore, their safety performance is particularly important. It is necessary to ensure stable parking during use, especially when going uphill or downhill. At the same time, the direction control should be designed accurately to avoid the safety risks caused by frequent direction adjustments that make electric wheelchairs unstable.

The China Consumers Association also proposed the "product selection points" for electric wheelchairs in the inspection report:

Some product designs are not "age friendly"

During the testing process, professionals also told reporters that some companies overlook the special physiological and psychological characteristics of the elderly when designing products, which is also a common problem with elderly care assistive devices.

Liang Jing, Director of the Design, Research and Evaluation Center of the China Academy of Home Appliances, said: For example, the physiological functions of the elderly are degraded, and there are also many various diseases accumulated in the body. Therefore, the cognitive, operational, and perceptual abilities of the elderly are more degraded than those with normal behavioral abilities, which is also some characteristics of this group.

The views of professionals were further confirmed in interviews with reporters. At a nursing home in Beijing, professional nursing staff told reporters that this wheelchair seems to meet the needs of elderly people for transportation, but due to the fact that the majority of elderly people's physical functions have declined and their balance control ability is much lower than that of young people, it is very unsafe to use.

Rong Enhui, Dean of Guangyuan Changqing Elderly Care Center in Haidian District, Beijing: Like this wheelchair, it is not smooth when put down, and it is very dangerous. If you don't have enough strength in your hands, it will slide down quickly, which is very dangerous and inconvenient to operate. Also, it did not fully consider the mechanics of the lever in its design, so when it lies down, the wheelchair is very unsafe. As long as the elderly person puts in a little effort and leans back, the risk of falling is very high.

Professionals point out that the key to avoiding these risks is to fully consider the physical degradation of the elderly in product design, which can help elderly consumers avoid many unnecessary physical injuries.

The reporter learned that in response to the problems found in the evaluation of elderly assistive devices, the China Consumers Association has taken some corresponding measures.

Zhang Dezhi, Director of the Consumer Supervision Department of the China Consumers Association: The China Consumers Association attaches great importance to the data obtained in this project, as well as some issues discovered. On the one hand, we have reported to the relevant administrative departments of the country that we hope to strengthen legislation and carry out corresponding mandatory testing, which can greatly improve quality, variety, and brand, and serve more consumers.