Wudu’ Workstation Design for Elderly and Disabled People in Malaysia’s Mosques

Abstract

Background: Ablution area is one of the facilities used by most Muslims in all categories. There are numbers of design guidelines for praying facilities but lack on ablution area specification. Therefore, this study was conducted to design an ergonomic ablution area for the Muslim’s disabled and elderly based on their preferences and anthropometric dimension.

Methods:  Kano questionnaires and user evaluation form, was used to investigate the preferences of elderly and disabled in ablution area to 20 respondents at Masjid Bulat, Petaling Jaya and Masjid Kampung Kerinchi,Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur in 2015. Anthropometric dimension of elderly and disabled people was measured. Besides, dimensions of two existing ablution units at selected mosques were evaluated using ‘Ablution Unit Dimension Evaluation’ form.

Results: New ablution area design was developed based on elderly and disabled people anthropometric dimension and user preferences as well as user satisfaction survey. This study can be considered as preliminary study for the development of ergonomic ablution unit design.

Conclusion:  It is hoped that the findings and recommendations from this research will be referred by the stakeholders to determine the best solution to increase the level of comfort and accessibility for elderly and disabled at mosques in Malaysia.

Keywords: Wudu’, Ablution, Workstation, Elderly, Disabled, Design, Mosque