JHT READ FOR CREDIT ARTICLE #278. Scientific/Clinical Article Preference of lid design characteristics by older adults with limited hand function Wei-Ting Yen PhD, Sharon R. Flinn PhD, OTR/L, CHT * , Carolyn M. Sommerich PhD, Steven A. Lavender PhD, Elizabeth B-N. Sanders PhD The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA article info Article history: Received 11 September 2012 Received in revised form 3 April 2013 Accepted 8 April 2013 Available online 14 June 2013 Keywords: Hand pain ADL limitations Hand function assessment Jar lids abstract Introduction: Although opening jars is problematic for older adults, little is known about the best interface design for jar lids. Purpose of the study: To evaluate preferences in current and new lids for persons self-reporting difficulty with opening jars. Methods: Participants were twenty-six older females with hand pain. Preference ratings were obtained for twenty-four current and forty-two new lid designs of different sizes, shapes, and textures. Results: Current lids with taller heights, larger diameters, and textured sides were preferred. Texture compensated for limitations of shorter and smaller diameter lids. Preferred characteristics in new smaller diameter lids included taller height, non-circular top shapes, and concave side shapes. Taller height, regardless of shape, was preferred for new medium diameter lids. Least preferred for small and medium lids was the short height, traditional circular shape. Conclusions: The preferences of jar lids made by elderly females with hand pain support the recom- mendations commonly suggested by clinicians to increase the height, diameter, texture, and shape of jars, especially for lids smaller than 40 mm. Ó 2013 Hanley & Belfus, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Aging is one of the main factors associated with marked decline in hand functions in older populations. Hunter et al pointed out that their declined hand functions can be due to deterioration in muscle coordination, finger dexterity, hand sensation, and degen- eration of the central nervous system. 1 In addition to aging effects, chronic diseases, such as hand osteoarthritis (OA), hand rheuma- toid arthritis (RA), or Parkinson’s disease, are also reflected in the reductions in effectiveness of hand use. 2 It has been reported that most older adults experience increased difficulties in performing one or more activities of daily living (ADL) when interacting with products in their living environments. 3 The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a theoretical model, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), to illustrate the interactions between health condition, functioning, and contextual factors. 4 Accordingly, taking the design characteristics of products’ physical interfaces for older adults as the focus of the current study, the associations between an individual’s hand health condition (e.g., aging, hand OA, hand RA, etc.), hand functions and structures (e.g., strength, perceived pain, dexterity, etc.), activities (e.g., ADL), participation (e.g., self-care), and envi- ronmental factors (e.g., jar lids, pot handles, or other product inter- faces) can be further explained (Fig. 1). From this perspective, better designs of product interfaces are those that provide environmental assistance to improve an individual’s level of functioning. 5 In the past, food packaging was designed to satisfy the needs of manufacturers, which were preserving and protecting the food contents. Recently some manufacturers have also begun to look for ways to reduce the amount of packaging material they use; an example of this is a very short, small diameter lid on some individual-sized bottles of water. However, some people experience significant difficulties in using and opening some food containers, 6 such as when opening a new jar or bottle. Jar opening has been reported to be one of the most difficult ADLs for older populations, especially those with hand problems. 3,6,7 In recent years, some studies have discussed improvements in the “Openability” of jars or bottles, e.g., “how easy it is for the consumer to access a product”. 8 For example, Yoxall et al. examined the differences in maximum voluntary torques (MVTs) between different age groups of healthy people when opening a 75 mm diameter jar. 6 Imrhan and Loo investigated the relationship between grip force, resulting torque, The paper was adapted from a presentation at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, September 19e23, 2011. The study was partially funded by the 2009 Student Scholarship from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society’s Aging Technical Group. * Corresponding author. Division of Occupational Therapy, The Ohio State University, 406F Atwell Hall, 453 West 10th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1262, USA. Tel.: þ1 614 247 5024; fax: þ1 614 457 5853. E-mail addresses: kilo@ameritech.net, Sharon.flinn@osumc.edu (S.R. Flinn). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Hand Therapy journal homepage: www.jhandtherapy.org 0894-1130/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Hanley & Belfus, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jht.2013.04.002 Journal of Hand Therapy 26 (2013) 261e271