STUDY THE EXISTING CLOTHING PRACTICES OF THE ELDERLY IN WINTER

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1 STUDY THE EXISTING CLOTHING PRACTICES OF THE ELDERLY IN WINTER Pawandeep Kaur Assistant Professor, Fashion Designing Department, Guru Nanak Khalsa College For Women, Model Town, Ludhiana, Punjab (India) ABSTRACT Winter is associated with increased mortality rates of about 30% above those experienced in the rest of the year. The dexterity, strength and flexibility requirements for putting on a winter coat are for some older adults enough of a reason to avoid going out in the winter. In establishing guidelines for universally designed winter clothing. There is a need to identify populations with specific requirements and to ensure that the thermal protection property and usability of the winter clothing that will satisfy the needs of the elderly. The present investigation was carried out in Ludhiana city for studying the winter clothing needs and practices of elderly, designing and construction of layered garments for respondents (Five Male and Five Females) selected through purposive sampling. Interview schedule was used as a tool for data collection. The results showed that most of the respondents preferred layered clothing in winters. Ten layers from different fabrics were prepared. Most of the respondents preferred tailor made garments rather than home Made or ready-made. For both male and female winter wears, full sleeve outfits like shirt, Kameez, pullover, warm vest were used. Some male respondents used warm cap whereas females used mufflers and shawls. Keywords: Kameez, Layered, Mufflers, Pullover, Shawls, Tailor made, Winter clothing I. INTRODUCTION As people enter middle age, their body proportions sometimes begin to change. Gradually, these changes affect mobility of the person. Mobility refers to a person s ability to walk, move around, and functions on a daily basis. Mobility may be limited by the clothing that gets in the way-either for the person wearing it or for others who assist him or her. The physical changes become more accentuated with time, until the older person can no longer wear standard -size ready -to- wear clothing. Also as glandular secretions decrease, the skin of the elderly becomes thin, dry, and inelastic [12]. It was found that regional variations in thermal insulation and number of items worn, after allowance for differences in climate and behaviour, were associated with geographical differences in excess winter mortality [2]. It was found that there is a potential to increase clothing, particularly by wearing long underpants or tights with trousers, underskirts with skirts, jackets with overcoats, or all three of hat, scarf or gloves. The use of extra clothing would, however, have to be balanced against the practicalities of removing excess clothing when indoors. 303 P a g e

2 Many older individuals have trouble putting on winter coats because the garments are typically heavy and require flexibility, dexterity and strength levels that exceed their own. These difficulties are so problematic for some that they are often enough to keep them from going outside [9], [10]. Elderly people are definitely interested in desire to possess clothing that are convenient, easy to handle, safe to wear, easy to clean, attractive in design, produce self-confidence and create favourable impression on others. Unsuitable clothing on the other hand makes them unhappy, depressed, self- centred and introvert. To overcome these problems easy access garments should be selected as these are easy to don and doff, thus reduce their dependency on others. Above all there is reduction in it reduces perceptional deviance and promotes positive interaction hence aiding in social and personal adjustment. The stereotype says older people don t care about their appearance. But, research shows, older people think of themselves as younger than they are, their sense of fashion reflects their youthful thinking and the fashion of earlier years when they were younger, and they like clothing that looks good on them. Clothing can help older people feel better about them and present a positive image to those around them. Sending positive appearance messages may increase older people s opportunities for social interaction. The outdoor clothing choice and human comfort level depends not only on air temperature and wind speed but also on other meteorological parameters such as relative humidity and solar radiation as well as individual characteristics such as activity levels, age, gender, origin and acclimatization etc. [3], [6], [7], [8], [11]. Rough textures and heavy fabrics may irritate their drying skin. When the elderly are physically disabled, the problem of wearing clothing can hinder movement, produce discomfort, make the wearer feel unattractive and thus influence the wearer s self-image and morale. Disabled elderly also have a social life. So clothing is important for the wearer s self-esteem Insulation provided by clothing is a dynamic property which varies due to body posture, intensity and type of activity, moisture content, and wind [4]. It was found that majority of middle aged women of Ludhiana noticed change in their anthropometric measurements and thickened waist followed by increase in hip girth and arm girth. Mostly respondents preferred tailor made suits followed by homemade and ready -made suits. Kameez salwar was the most preferred garment for casual as well as special occasion wear. Moderately loose shirts were preferred for summer and winters. It was found that severity of the diseases varied with age and season. Majority of respondents faced problem during dressing and undressing. Suits having self -help features desired according to the disability of the individual respondents were made. These included easy to manipulate fasteners, reinforcement at armpit level, and tape in neckline, easing and quilted pads attached to sleeves cuff for holding walker handles. In salwar the features included side opening at pauncha [5]. It was found that majority of the respondents were suffering from osteoarthritis had problems in knee joints and used some kind of support for mobility. Most preferred summer wear garments were kurta, half sleeved shirt, full sleeved pullover, pyjama trousers, vest and underwear while belts were most commonly preferred accessories. For winter wear the most commonly worn garments were kurta, full sleeved pullover, pyjama, trouser, vest, underwear while socks were most commonly used accessories. The features included in the garments were side opening, large crotch length and tear area, padding for warmth and softness [1]. 304 P a g e

3 The few technological winter apparel items that offer active heating components or safety additions have been designed for the sporting and military markets, and are therefore out of scope and price range for functionally limited older adults and are not universal solutions. II. OBJECTIVES To analyse the clothing problems encountered by the elderly in winter season. III. LIMITATION A similar study may be conducted by studying winter forecasting trends and developing comfortable winter clothing for elderly persons using layered fabrics and other functional features to help them to dress and undress independently. IV. METHODOLOGY Methodology is the mode or method of collecting data for the study undertaken. It deals with the methods and procedures used in execution of the study. A well-developed interview schedule was used to collect the data from the purposively selected respondents of the age group of 65 years and above. For that data collection five males and five female respondents were selected and their responses were marked on the developed interview schedule. Weighed mean scores and ranks were used to gain an insight into the type of garments preferred by the respondents for winters. V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS TABLE 1: Preference of the respondents for the factors considered by them while Stitching/buying the garments. Factors Weighted Mean Scores Rank Availability of garments 4.8 II Durability 5.6 I Type of fasteners 2.4 V Occasion 2.6 IV Dress which is easy to don and doff 4.6 III * Multiple Responses n=10* 305 P a g e

4 TABLE 2 Preference of the male respondents for garments worn by them in winters n=5 Type of garments Frequencies Total score Rank Frequently Sometimes Never Upper garments Full sleeved shirt III Full sleeved T-shirt V Kurta III Jacket IV Coat V Full sleeve pullover I Full sleeve cardigan II Lower garments Trousers I Pyjamas I Under garments Vest II Warm vest I Accessories Mufflers II Gloves III Cap I Socks I 306 P a g e

5 TABLE 3. Preference of the Female respondents for garments worn by them in winters n=5 Type of garments Frequencies Total score Rank Frequently Sometimes Never Upper garments Full sleeved Kameez I Full sleeved cardigan II Full sleeved pullover II Coat III Lower garments Salwar I Trousers II Under garments Vest II Warm vest I Accessories Mufflers I Gloves IV Shawl II Socks III Table 1 reveals the factors considered by the respondents while planning/stitching/buying the garments has been shown in. Weighted mean scores were calculated and ranks were given accordingly. The results regarding the factors shows that durability was given first rank followed by availability of garment (Rank II), dress which is easy to don and doff (Rank III). The lowest ranks were given to type of the fasteners and occasion. Table 2 reveals the preference of the male respondents for garments worn by them in winters has been given in. It is evident that in case of upper garments, full sleeved pullover was most popular garment with Rank I, followed by full sleeved cardigan with Rank II. The least preferred garment was coat (Rank VI). Kurta and full sleeved shirt were also preferred at Rank III. In case of lower garments, trousers and pyjamas were both ranked equal. But in case of under garments, warm vest was preferred above simple vest in winters. And in accessories cap and socks were given highest rank followed by muffler and gloves with rank three was not preferred much by any of the respondents Table.3 reveals the preference of the female respondents for garments worn by them in winters. In the case of upper garments, full sleeved kameez was the most popular (Rank I) as it was frequently worn by all the 307 P a g e

6 respondents followed by full sleeved cardigan and full sleeved pullover (Rank II each). Coat was the least popular garment (Rank III). In case of lower garments category salwar was most frequently worn garment (Rank I) followed by trousers. In case of under garments, warm vest was most frequently worn by the respondents (Rank I) whereas simple vest was least preferred with Rank II. In accessories muffler was the most preferred accessory (Rank I). Shawl with (Rank II) was followed by socks. Gloves were the least preferred accessory by the respondents (Rank IV). VI. CONCLUSION The two population groups who are most heavily represented in this demographic are seniors and those with chronic illnesses as a result of outdoor exposure to the cold. Proper outdoor clothing, together with adequate indoor heating, can prevent much of the excess winter mortality. Therefore, it is important to provide public health advisors with more robust evidence on the benefits of increased outdoor clothing for reducing excess winter mortality. On the other hand, winter coats pose a problem for many older adults who experience functional limitations. More efforts are needed to develop winter coats that can be used by everyone including older adults with functional limitations. These designs will: 1) Reduce the physical challenge of donning the coat 2) Reduce the restrictions on movement and safe ambulation 3) Reduce the likelihood of injury from a fall REFERENCES [1.] Arora N (2001) Designing and construction of garments for arthritic elderly men. M.Sc. thesis, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. [2.] Donaldson G, Rintamäki H, Näyhä S. Outdoor clothing: Its relationship to geography, climate, behaviour and cold related mortality in Europe. International Journal of Biometeorology. 2001; 45(1):45 51 [3.] Givoni B, Noguchi M, Saaroni H, Pochter O, Yaacov Y, Feller N, et al. Outdoor comfort research issues. Energy and Buildings. 2003; 35(1): [4.] Holmér I. Assessment of cold stress in terms of required clothing insulation IREQ. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 1988; 3(2): [5.] Jindal N (1998) Designing of suits for arthritic elderly women. M.Sc. Thesis, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. [6.] Metje N, Sterling M, Baker C. Pedestrian comfort using clothing values and body temperatures. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics. 2008; 96(4): [7.] Nagara K, Shimoda Y, Mizuno M. Evaluation of the thermal environment in an outdoor pedestrian space. Atmospheric Environment. 1996; 30(3): [8.] Nikolopoulou M, Lykoudis S. Thermal comfort in outdoor urban spaces: Analysis across different European countries. Building and Environment. 2006; 41(11): [9.] Row B, Paul J, Fernie G. What is Keeping Older Adults Shut In during the winter? In: Gerontological Society of America annual meeting. Washington D.C.: P a g e

7 [10.] Row B, Paul J, McKeever P, Fernie G. Winter Presents Barriers to Physical and Social Activity in Functionally Impaired Older Adults. In: American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting. Nashville, TN.: [11.] Stathopoulos T, Wu H, Zacharias J. Outdoor human comfort in an urban climate. Building and Environment. 2004; 39(3): [12.] Selecting clothes for older people in your care- retrieved from P a g e