2017 年 53 巻 Supplement2 号 p. S744-S745
The aim of this study is to investigate the consumer product packaging in the market and its implications for the elderly user. The focus of the study was the interaction between the packaging's closure mechanism and the user. Twenty-four elderly males and females, above the age of sixty-five, participated in this study. They unpacked 50 different consumer packages in front of video cameras. Then, they assessed their comfort using scales ranging from 0 (easiest) to 4 (most difficult). Opening time was measured via video recording and also used in a comfortability assessment. Out of 50 packages, products using specific closure mechanisms, such as sliding and snapping mechanisms, were preferred by both male and female groups. Excessive width and smooth surfaces, on the other hand, resulted in opening difficulty for both genders. The differences in the overall opening difficulty (OOD) between the two groups implied that some packages were perceived as much more inconvenient by one gender than another. Highly ranked packages, which were considered harder to unpack by females, may have been a result from the packages' size and weight.
