Comparison of the stair safety awareness in different target groups by applying the VASMA-C methodology

Abstract

There are many cases in the construction industry when decision-making related to the specific elements of the single-family houses is left to the property owners. The choice of the internal stairs design is one of them. While stair-related injuries are among the most common reasons for children’s accidents at home, stair safety awareness in different target groups becomes an important matter to prevent kid injuries in domestic environments. Eleven staircase parameters affecting children’s safety in single-family houses were determined in this study. The online survey dedicated to collecting and assessing the importance of these parameters was constructed and spread in Lithuania. The new modification of the VASMA (Visual Analogue Scale Matrix for Criteria Weighting) methodology called VASMA-C was proposed to analyse collected data and to expose opinions differences in three target groups: experts in the field, apartment residents and house residents living with children. The comparative study disclosed that staircase landing is the parameter whose importance among the expert and non-expert evaluators differs the most. It was also revealed that apartment residents have the most divergent understanding of staircase safety compared with the rest of the target groups. These findings indicate that different customers need diverse information about the staircase parameters affecting children's health and the stair vendors should be aware of these demands.