Integrative Capstone Experiences for Engineering and Nursing Students to Enable Independence for Older Adults

工程和护理专业学生的综合顶点体验，使老年人能够独立

• 批准号: 1264752
• 负责人: Frank Sup
• 金额: $ 12.45万
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Amherst
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1264752&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Integrative; Capstone; Experiences; Engineering; Nursing

PI: Sup IVProposal Number: 1264752This proposal creates a new collaborative opportunity for undergraduate mechanical engineering and nursing students to partner in their senior capstone courses. The focus of their capstone design projects will be to develop assistive devices for older adults that will help them maintain quality of life and retain independence. In this collaborative approach, teams of students will work with an older adult client from a retirement community to identify challenges they are having with Instrumental Activities of Daily Life (IADLs), which are as essential for independent living. Teams will develop solutions using engineering principles and nursing practices to create usable, economical, and reliable devices that fit into the daily life of the older adults. The collaborative process with older adults as clients will enable the students to gain insight into the user's needs and requirements and develop solutions that are customized for their use. This proposal is motivated by the impending rise in the number of older adults in the United States and their desire to remain independent and lead a fulfilling life. Without assistance with IADLs, they will require increasing levels of support from family or institutions. The capstone design focus will be on developing economical assistive devices that can both help older adults maintain independence and quality of life. The proposal creates a stimulating and collaborative environment for the proposed projects through the synergistic partnership between the faculty and students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Nursing and the older adults and staff at Mason Wright Retirement Community (Springfield, MA) and the Jewish Geriatric Services (Longmeadow, MA).Intellectual Merit: This innovative collaboration provides a unique and essential opportunity to train the next generation of engineers and nurses to work collaboratively developing solutions for real challenges. The nursing students will bring clinical knowledge, as well as a unique client-centered perspective crucial for successful engagement during the design process and adaptation when completed. With a balanced perspective, the engineers on the team will be able to develop realistic design specifications that capture the requirements and constraints of the challenges faced by older adults with age-related disabilities.Broader Impact: The technology developed for these projects will have significant effects for the older adult clients who volunteer. The partner retirement communities serve the needs of low-income older adults and are situated in an area of Springfield with a large minority population. The assistive devices created for these individuals will give them opportunity to maintain their independence that they may not have had for economic reasons. Many older adults have similar challenges that our clients will have. The solutions developed from the course may have commercial viability and offer the chance to affect the lives of millions of older Americans by supporting their independence and quality of life. The collaboration of engineering and nursing will demonstrate to the students how other professionals approach and solve a problem. This experience will benefit their future by teaching them methods for interdisciplinary work and giving the opportunity to realize its advantages first-hand.

PI：SUP IVPROPOPALE编号：1264752 THIS提案为本科机械工程学和护理学生提供了新的合作机会，可以在其高级顶级课程中合作。他们的顶峰设计项目的重点是为老年人开发辅助设备，以帮助他们保持生活质量并保持独立性。在这种协作方法中，学生团队将与退休社区的老年人客户合作，以​​确定他们在日常生活（IADLS）中所面临的挑战，这对于独立生活至关重要。团队将使用工程原理和护理实践开发解决方案，以创建适合老年人日常生活的可用，经济和可靠的设备。与老年人作为客户的协作过程将使学生能够深入了解用户的需求和需求，并开发用于使用的解决方案。这项提议是由美国老年人人数即将增加的动机，以及他们保持独立并过上充实生活的愿望。没有IADL的帮助，他们将需要增加家庭或机构的支持水平。顶峰设计的重点将放在发展经济的辅助设备上，这些设备既可以帮助老年人保持独立性和生活质量。该提案通过机械工程系与护理学院以及梅森·赖特（Mason Wright）退休社区（马萨诸塞州斯普林菲尔德）（Springfield，马萨诸塞州斯普林菲尔德）的老年人和员工之间的协同伙伴关系（马萨诸塞州）的老年人和员工之间的协同伙伴关系为拟议的项目创造了一个刺激性和协作的环境。护士为开发解决实际挑战的解决方案的合作工作。护理专业的学生将带来临床知识，以及以客户为中心的视角对于在设计过程中成功参与和完成后的适应性至关重要。从平衡的角度来看，团队的工程师将能够制定现实的设计规范，以捕捉与年龄相关的残疾老年人所面临的挑战的要求和约束。BOADER的影响：为这些项目开发的技术将对志愿者的老年人有重大影响。合作伙伴退休社区可满足低收入老年人的需求，位于斯普林菲尔德（Springfield）地区，少数人口。为这些人创建的辅助设备将使他们有机会维持出于经济原因可能没有拥有的独立性。许多老年人面临类似的挑战。该课程开发的解决方案可能具有商业可行性，并提供了支持数百万美国人的生活的机会，以支持他们的独立性和生活质量。工程和护理的合作将向学生展示其他专业人员如何解决和解决问题。这种经验将通过教导他们进行跨学科工作的方法，并赋予他们亲身实现其优势的机会，从而使他们的未来受益。