Mapping stairwell accessibility in Vancouver's downtown core

Do Stairs Inhibit Seniors Who Live on Upper Floors From Going Out?

BACKGROUND

Walk-up buildings are common in China today since they were almost the only type of residential buildings constructed from the 1950s to the 1990s.

OBJECTIVES

This study examined how a vertical mobility obstacle, that is, mandatory stair climbing in walk-up residential buildings, may impact whether seniors go outdoors.

METHODS

We collected and examined 1,608 valid data records from 64 Chinese senior participants in Shanghai wearing Fitbit HR wristbands that tracked their mobility and physical activity for 31 consecutive days. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regressions were performed on the binary leaving-home-or-not probability by the level of vertical obstacles controlled for physical-demographic factors, socioeconomic factors, outdoor activity habits, and weather.

RESULTS

Our observations revealed that each floor above ground level reduced the likelihood of outdoor trips by approximately one third per floor. After controlling for the physical, demographic, and socioeconomic factors of the participants as well as weather and holidays, we found that significantly fewer going-out incidents were also associated with more frequent outdoor activities within the community, especially in paved areas, but no associations were observed with self-reported visit frequencies to green spaces, senior centers within the community, or other places outside the community.

CONCLUSION

This study offered the in situ observation that seniors' probability of leaving their homes is correlated with the degree of vertical circulation as a mobility barrier (i.e., the number of stairs between their living space and access to the outdoors), which may impact policy making for regulations concerning elevators in residential codes and renovations.

Does a video displaying a stair climbing model increase stair use in a worksite setting?

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated the effects of improving the visibility of the stairwell and of displaying a video with a stair climbing model on climbing and descending stair use in a worksite setting.

STUDY DESIGN

Intervention study.

METHODS

Three consecutive one-week intervention phases were implemented: (1) the visibility of the stairs was improved by the attachment of pictograms that indicated the stairwell; (2) a video showing a stair climbing model was sent to the employees by email; and (3) the same video was displayed on a television screen at the point-of-choice (POC) between the stairs and the elevator. The interventions took place in two buildings. The implementation of the interventions varied between these buildings and the sequence was reversed.

RESULTS

Improving the visibility of the stairs increased both stair climbing (+6%) and descending stair use (+7%) compared with baseline. Sending the video by email yielded no additional effect on stair use. By contrast, displaying the video at the POC increased stair climbing in both buildings by 12.5% on average. One week after the intervention, the positive effects on stair climbing remained in one of the buildings, but not in the other.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that improving the visibility of the stairwell and displaying a stair climbing model on a screen at the POC can result in a short-term increase in both climbing and descending stair use.