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Supporting the development of inclusive products: the effects of everyday ambient illumination levels and contrast on older adults’ near visual acuity

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posted on 2014-06-03, 12:38 authored by Edward Elton, D. Johnson, Colette Nicolle, Laurence CliftLaurence Clift
Current older adult capability data-sets fail to account for the effects of everyday environmental conditions on capability. This article details a study that investigates the effects of everyday ambient illumination conditions (overcast, 6000 lx; in-house lighting, 150 lx and street lighting, 7.5 lx) and contrast (90%, 70%, 50% and 30%) on the near visual acuity (VA) of older adults (n = 38, 65–87 years). VA was measured at a 1-m viewing distance using logarithm of minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) acuity charts. Results from the study showed that for all contrast levels tested, VA decreased by 0.2 log units between the overcast and street lighting conditions. On average, in overcast conditions, participants could detect detail around 1.6 times smaller on the LogMAR charts compared with street lighting. VA also significantly decreased when contrast was reduced from 70% to 50%, and from 50% to 30% in each of the ambient illumination conditions.

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  • Design

Citation

ELTON, E. ... et al, 2013. Supporting the development of inclusive products: the effects of everyday ambient illumination levels and contrast on older adults’ near visual acuity. Ergonomics, 56 (5), pp. 803-817

Publisher

© Taylor and Francis

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publication date

2013

Notes

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor and Francis Group in Ergonomics on 25/03/13 available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2013.770926

ISSN

0014-0139

Language

  • en

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