Home Care Design for Parkinson’s Disease. Designing the Home Environment for People with Parkinson’s Disease

This volume collects the results of the research programme Home Care Design for Parkinson’s Disease, aimed at defining good design practices to enhance the autonomy and quality of life of people with Parkinson’s disease within the home environment. The programme, promoted and financed by the Fondazione Zoé, was realised by a multidisciplinary work group – which involved the University of Florence for the area of design, the University of Turin for the area of neurology, the Catholic University of Milan for the area of sociology, the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil) for the area of industrial production engineering – in collaboration with the Confederazione Parkinson Italia and the Accademia Limpe-Dismov. The book proposes an introductory overview of Parkinson’s disease from a medical and sociological point of view, analysing the main and most frequent areas of discomfort and/or difficulty experienced by people with Parkinson’s disease during activities of daily living and relationships. The project approach is based on the principles of Design for Inclusion and on the theoretical and methodological approach of Human-Centred Design which, through the direct involvement of users, have made it possible to focus attention on the specific needs and expectations of people with Parkinson’s disease and their families and to define the different design solutions. Specific insights are devoted to the emotional effects of interaction with the environments and products of everyday life, and to the opportunities offered by the use of enabling technologies, which, from robotics to wearable devices to environmental monitoring technologies, can offer concrete solutions for enhancing independence. The second part of the book is dedicated to the design guidelines that provide solutions and operational indications to ensure maximum usability, safety and pleasantness of use of the home’s interior, its furnishings and equipment.