Panels as a means of separation for an elderly residence

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not, open-office landscape panels would be viewed as a construction alternative to typical walls, in terms of enclosure, by elderly females in residential settings. Ender's Activity of Daily Living Questionnaire (1983) was mailed to 250 female residents of assisted living facilities in Eastern Tennessee. One hundred and forty three of these self-reporting questionnaires were usable, resulting in a response rate of 57%. A questionnaire was designed and pretested by the researcher based on the information obtained in the pilot study, regarding panel enclosed environments. The questionnaire was presented to 60 subjects, stratified from the @riginal group of respondents, as a focused interview. A 1" = 1'-0" scale model was used to view the three panel heights and three room settings queried. For purposes of this study, with respect to the activities of daily living (ADL), three skill levels (high, medium, and low) resulted from Ender's questionnaire. A one way ANOVA was used to evaluate differences in scores between the ADL groups and the panel heights and room settings.

Results of the study indicate that there is general acceptance of all ADL groups on the ranking of the three panel heights and room settings. The findings of the study indicated that elderly females in this study accepted panels as a means of enclosure in these room settings but, preferred the taller panels.