A review on the role of functional limitations on evacuation performance using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Abstract

This scoping review addresses the role of functional limitations on evacuation performance of adults in public buildings. Although this topic has been addressed in evacuation research, no linkage is currently available between functional limitations, the predominant activities affected by them and evacuation performance. This review strives to open a debate on the need to classify the impact of disability in terms of functional limitations on evacuation performance according to methods adopted in health science. This paper reviews literature concerning evacuation from public buildings with adults aged ≥ 60 years and/or adults aged ≥ 18 years with functional limitations. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health has been used to identify predominant activities during an evacuation and to perform a structured classification at different levels of resolution to address self-evacuation possibilities. Results of the review are presented in a tabular form linking predominant activities in terms of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and six categories of functional limitations with the engineering evacuation time-line. The suggested classification can facilitate the assessment of the evacuation-related issues in buildings in relation to the population under consideration. The main research gaps identified include the lack of studies concerning the impact of cognitive limitations on egress, and the need to add the temporal dimension to the methods adopted in accessibility research to allow for their use in the egress field.

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