**4.2. A comparison of caregiving to elders between the pre- and post-design**

The percentage of time where an elder gets verbal instruction in class is 7.19%, physical instruction is 6.46%, and the average time where instructor demonstrates for an elder is 57.4 s, 1.97% of class time (**Figure 13**). Compared to class two, volunteer demonstrations have decreased.

**Figure 12.** The relationship between the number of instructors and elders.

**Figure 10.** Average percentage of time working with tool-assisted and bare hands.

**Figure 9.** Average percentage of time working with bare hands.

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for tool use and 17.89% for bare hand operations (**Figure 10**). The results indicated that the elderly in the test group were involved in tool-assisted and bare hand operations more evenly. In addition, compared with the control group, the elderly in the test group had considerably higher percentages of dominant hand use and both hand use in terms of total time. Therefore, the newly designed flower bed was proved effective at enhancing the elderly's willingness to

**Figure 11.** Interaction of the elders in class in percentage.

**Figure 13.** The percentage of time when an elder receives care.

Also, the elderly in the test group are much more enthusiastic about the curriculum, which reduces any distraction from other volunteers. The new design makes the elderly to get the therapeutic effect when working independently as same as the goal of horticultural classes. Implementation of "Elder Green" in the new curriculum will have positive effect on horticultural activities.

the dimensions of Elder Green were more suitable for the elderly, and because it featured individual operating platforms, the elderly could engage in planting more easily, which enhanced their willingness to use bare hands. In addition to encouraging the elderly to use both hands evenly, Elder Green enabled the horticultural therapist to provide equal attention to each older adult because of its radial arrangement when in teaching mode. Moreover, the arrangement elevated the elderly's perceived respect from others during the activities. The results indicated that idle time for the elderly in the test group decreased and mutual assistance increased. Again, this showed that higher enthusiasm in the elderly promotes the effects of horticultural therapy. Overall, this teaching style can enable institutions to provide quality gardening courses with less manpower.

New Flower Bed Design and Verification Supporting Horticultural Therapy Classes Based…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78311

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The horticultural therapist can stand at the center of the radial flower beds to interact with the elderly during gardening courses. This study adopted universal design; both the elderly who were wheelchair users and nonwheelchair users could sit by the side of the flower bed. The flower bed was primarily made of wood, the pattern and color of which conveyed comfort and warmth to the elderly. After completing the gardening course, the flower bed naturally became a display shelf showcasing the planting results (**Figure 16**). The Elder Green flower bed helped every older adult focus on the course contents. It mitigated the problem of forward-leaning sitting postures commonly observed in users of existing products by improving flower bed dimensions; moreover, even the elderly in wheelchairs could approach the flower bed at a proper distance to effectively use the work table and reach the depth of the flower bed at ease, rendering gardening activities easier. In previous observations, marked differences were observed between the percentage of time the elderly spent using their dominant hand and using their nondominant hand. However, with the Elder Green flower bed, the elderly' physical activity conducted with both hands holding objects was substantially elevated, and they used their nondominant hand more frequently to accomplish the movements required in the class instead of simply using the same hand repetitively. Therefore, the Elder Green flower bed created more opportunities for physical activity among the elderly by effectively

guiding them in spreading their strength to both hands (**Figure 17**).

**Figure 16.** Different type of "Elder Green" arrangements.

**5. Conclusions**
