Essay Example on Assignment 1 Stairways Fall Prevention

Assignment 1 Stairways Fall Prevention Stairs with all types have been used since old times and they have been always hazardous so people fall from them get hurt or even they get killed Most of the stairway falls happens because people lose balance Falling down from stairs can cause major life threatening injuries The stairway falling patients are having higher mortality rates than non stairway fall patients like who fall down stairs like victims of motor vehicles accidents burns other types of falls suicide etc In fact millions of people are treated for fall related injuries as stairways falls significantly cause a high number of head injured patients causing head trauma There are two very different types of causes one factor is the presence of floor obstacles falls are associated with dizziness and fainting and other individual health factors most of such falls happens on residential stairways Researchers found out that most of the falls on stairs are either slipping which is the primary cause of stair falls most of them happens when people are walking down the stairs another one is the absence of handrails cause a large percentage of falls on stairs that result in injuries Also unexpected location of stairs leads to many falls For instance stairs of just one or two steps in a hallway or doorway can be very hazardous in particular Stair design stair construction and maintenance stair placement stair use handrails are some of the accident encouraging factors that contribute to stair falls Stair Design Stairs especially with one or two steps cause a high number of falls this is a design feature 

A research done by McKee and Verney 1988 recommends that the height of the balustrade should be from 36 to 40 inches to be effective in preventing falls with the descending stairs however the height of handrails developed by the national laws and state building codes require a height of 30 to 34 inches Generally the Human Factors Design Handbook suggests a high handrail of 34 inches overall the dimension falls within the range required by most of the building codes The power grip optimizes the grip forces in the hand while the round shaped handrails with a diameter of about 1 5 inches maximize grip forces for adults and a diameter of between 1 125 and 1 25 inches maximizes grip forces for children Rectangular shaped handrails are usually easier to hold than round shaped railings but these handrails require a pinch grip which is the least effective grip to maximize the gripping forces in the human hand Falls on the stairs kill and injure many people in the United States each year by taking a human factors approach to stair design construction and maintenance many falls can prevent falling