How does a man feel when he is 70 years old or older? If you're not a senior, it's hard to imagine. Unless ... an old age simulator is worn. Contrary to popular belief, using it is not pleasant. It's an experience that literally changes everything. Students of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice will find out for themselves what it is like to be an elderly person.
Put on a jumpsuit and feel like a senior, i.e. an old age simulator for students of the Medical University of Silesia
Published Nov. 15, 2022 08:35
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What is an aging simulator? This is a special costume that restricts movement and impairs vision. It evokes the feeling of a sudden flow of years, simulating the statistical age of 70, which certainly evokes a lot of emotions. The equipment is also supposed to give a foretaste of old age, sensitize to the problems and needs of seniors and arouse empathy in dealing with them. The old age simulator allows younger people to experience the limitations of the aging process. Most of the functional limitations that can be presented are felt after it is put on. And so, a special vest weighs down the body, causing a temporary spinal defect. Limiters of the range of motion of the joints and weights on the limbs cause reduced mobility, and the imitation of stiffness and ossification of the joints makes it difficult to move. Gloves are also an important element of the equipment, which impair the feeling of the hand and the precision of movements, effectively preventing the performance of complex activities. The simulator also has special glasses and goggles that imitate cataracts and glaucoma, and earmuffs that limit hearing. All these functions serve to show the limitations that seniors face on a daily basis and to better understand the elderly. The whole equipment weighs several dozen kilograms. Its equipment also includes a walker and a ball.
The old age simulator is ideal for educating future nurses and doctors. Anyone who tries the old age simulator will better understand the behavior of older people, and thus will be better able to help them. At the Medical University of Silesia, this equipment will be used, among others, in in geriatric nursing classes at the faculty of nursing at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice. The equipment will also be perfect for classes organized as part of the University of the Third Age, to which family members of senior students are also invited.
The equipment was purchased as part of a subsidy received from the City Hall in Katowice.
Source: SUM
