title: Design and evaluation of a kitchen for persons with visual impairments.
abstract: Visually impaired people need skills on daily living, such as cooking, and Ratchasuda College offers independent living training for them. In order to fulfill their needs, a suitable kitchen should be designed with the consideration of their limitations. The objective of this study was to design and evaluate a kitchen for persons with visual impairments. Before designing the kitchen, interviews and an observation were carried out to obtain information on the needs of blind and low vision persons. Consequently, a kitchen model was developed, and it was evaluated by 10 persons with visual impairments. After the design improvement, the kitchen was built and has been routinely used for training persons with visual impairments to prepare meals. Finally, a post-occupancy evaluation of the kitchen was conducted by observing and interviewing both trainers and those with visual impairments during the food preparation training. The results of the study indicated that kitchens for persons with visual impairments should have safety and usability features. The results of the post-occupancy evaluation showed that those who attended cooking courses were able to cook safely in the kitchen. However, the kitchen still had limitations in some features.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Architecture, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand. kutintara@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Benjamas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kutintara
authors.forename: Pornpun
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Somboon
authors.forename: Virajada
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Buasri
authors.forename: Metinee
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Srettananurak
authors.forename: Piyanooch
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jedeeyod
authors.forename: Kittikan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pornpratoom
authors.forename: Veraya
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Iam-cham
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D001766:Blindness / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003296:Cooking; D004779:Environment Design; D005160:Facility Design and Construction / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061214:Patient Safety; D012494:Sampling Studies; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D055815:Young Adult