Handrails can be produced in a wide variety of designs for the elderly and disabled people. There are many types of handrails, designed for various disabilities.
The ADA, American Disabilities Act, has formed certain boundaries to which public and other places must follow to fully support the people with disabilities. One of the major factors that must be considered is the design and the place of making handrails that includes hand bars. These handrails are not limited to only public places, but they are also developed in the private areas in order to meet ADA standards. The material of developing handrails must be powerful enough to handle the amount of stress caused by grabbing the bar. The handrails are usually made of steel and aluminium pipe, situated in public places. The handrails are 32 to 38 mm in diameter. The handrails situated in homes are made of nylon or PVC pipes. In Stair ways, wheel chair access is usually seen that is made for the disabled people. These rails are parallel to the ground.
A “D TURN”, rounded off section, is required at each end of the handrails. Grab bars are usually found in bathrooms to help the disabled. They are often seen in public restrooms, where toilet grab bars are established to aid the disable. Sometimes, these are installed in homes of the handicapped person. The bars help the handicapped person in lifting himself on and off the toilet seat. Grab bars are also installed in shower and tubs. The purpose of these bars is usually to help the injured person to be independent and to support himself in private places, where he might be reluctant to call anyone else for support.
Portable grab bars also available that might support the disabled in travelling. These handrails are made for those people who have mild injuries or disabilities. Shower seats include seats that could help the disabled while taking a shower. They often have a grab-bar nearby for support.
Unfortunately, in most countries, special attention is not given to support the handicapped people. In most situations, the elderly men and women with weak legs are unable to lift themselves up while using a standard latrine in hospitals, situated in rural areas. The use of handrails could help the disabled to walk in and out of the bathroom or lifting and sitting. Although it is important to follow the specified standards in establishing handrails, but if you do not have enough resources, you can simply use bamboo poles to assist in moving up and down.
There are some major barriers, seen in most countries like lack of sufficient spacing in different areas for disabled people, ramps, lack of chairs and toilets. This will not help the handicapped in performing their routine tasks and will eventually delay a lot of activities. They will be more dependent on others for support, and it might decrease their self confidence.