Aging in place refers to remaining in one’s home and community throughout the aging process (Siebert, 2007). Additionally, it can mean living in a supportive environment that allows participation in meaningful activities, and increases quality of life (Siebert, 2007). Home modifications help facilitate participation in meaningful activities, decrease falls, and support aging in place (Siebert, 2007). Home modifications are adaptations to the environment that meet the needs of an individual, and increase safety and independence (Siebert, 2007). Although aging in place is more than home modifications, the focus and the purpose of my project is to research how affordable home modifications can support lower socioeconomic status older adults, with aging in place. There are three objectives to determine if the purpose of this project has been achieved. The first objective is that the educational presentation and booklet were effective in increasing the participant's knowledge of low-cost options and funding sources for implementing home modifications. The second objective is that the …show more content…
The individuals who participate in this project currently live in an apartment complex for lower income adults’. Individuals can still be working or be retired. These individuals do not have to be completely independent; they can have some assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) or instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Those who participate may have already started the aging in place process, which I can clarify by asking specific questions in the pre-presentation survey. Questions I may ask, include “Have you made any modifications to your home in the past?” “If so, what, and have they increased your ability to participate in daily activities and/or decreased your
It is important to take care of the future needs for medical care as well as regular shopping. Home maintenance and alteration are also important parameters in this regard. The home needs to be in a condition as to not pose any hazard to the elderly person. It needs to have modifications according to the needs
A sense of privacy is an important characteristic of a home-like environment. As Cristofetti, Gennai, and Rodeschini describe it, “The home has always represented and symbolized the passage from the external world to the internal world, from the public sphere to the private one” (2011). The décor a person fills one’s house with makes it their home, as their personality and choices are intertwined with the space (Cristofetti, Gennai, & Rodeschini, 2011). By building small homes where residents can have real privacy and can decorate their own rooms, the Green Houses provide nursing home spaces that are truly home-like, rather than
With healthcare in the United States advancing so rapidly, there are new ways to treat just about any kind of illness every day. With being able to treat illnesses in new ways, and also the advancement of medical equipment, comes the possibility of a lot more people living up into their 90’s, and maybe even getting to reach 100. The aging population, which keeps growing every so rapidly, will be using up a lot more sources as the years go by. This means, that we need to educate more doctors and nurses, etc., and also make more living facilities for older adults. The question that comes up in my mind, is when is “old” actually”. Most people stereotypically consider ages 75 and older old, but that doesn’t mean they are actually “old”, does it?
Desjarlais, R., & Throop, C. J. (2011). Phenomenological approaches in anthropology. Annual Review of Anthropology, 40, 87-102. doi: 10.1146/annurev-anthro-092010-153345.
Assisted living is an effective type of care facility programmed towards helping older individuals with their increasing disabilities. “The fit between individual capacity and the availability of satisfying activities within an environment is an important aspect of positive aging and an especially salient issue for ALF [Assisted Living Faculty] management, given the role of activities in the consumer selection of assisted living”.2 This isolation of this quote is “positive aging”. Positive aging is important since it leads individuals to have a happier and more fulfilling life, and it can be supported through everyday activities and through the living environment. In nursing homes, each individual needs help with making sure that they are given care that meets their needs. This varies through different states and also communities. The purpose of the quote is to show that each person should be evaluated individually, meaning everyone needs a different approach to deal with the aging process.
Today’s society highly values attractiveness, energy, and independence. Therefore, old age tends to be devalued in many ways based on stereotypes portrayed by the media and personal biases. Regardless, aging is a natural process that happens to everyone in society. With that said, this becomes a challenge for young nurses. What does one think of when hearing of a 87 year old patient? Does one automatically think the patient will be confused, agitated, very frail, very ill, or dependent? Many do. This is where nurses need to become more aware and change their views. Working in a hospital myself, I tend to assume the same. I also hear a lot of people who are surprised when they discover their patient
The meaning of home to older adults transcends the financial and physical qualities of the brick and mortar. Gillsjo, Schwartz-Bardot, & Von Post (2011) suggested that “home was experienced as the place the older adult could not imagine living without, but also as the place one might be forced to leave” (p. 2). Notwithstanding an American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) survey (2010) which showed that the “majority of older adults polled preferred to age in place” (p. 1), the dilemma for many seniors is how to do so when faced with deteriorating housing conditions and “insufficient resources in retirement” (Neil & Neil, 2009, p. 53). In an effort to supplement inadequate retirement incomes, some seniors have capitalized on the “accumulated equity in their homes” (Kroleski, Ryan, & Bottiglieri, 2009, p. 37) through the provision of reverse mortgages. Other elderly homeowners faced with housing conditions that are considered unsafe or unacceptable by objective housing standards, have chosen to stay in their lifelong homes until they are forced to vacate, according to Dee Gillis, City of Gastonia Code Enforcement Administrator, (personal communication, March 23, 2011). Further, Oswald and Wahl (2005) suggested that many elderly homeowners have become oblivious to potential hazards and threats within the home, and have adapted to those environmental obstacles. While the purpose of housing standards and reverse mortgages may be to promote livability in existing housing, the unintended consequences of both may inevitably serve to displace elderly homeowners. Consequently, this paper will examine existing housing quality standards developed by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and by one local mun...
Sometimes the best way to learn is through experience. I have not experienced the aging process. My knowledge of the aging process has only come from what I have observed from the older people in my life and things picked up from various media. However, I have never discussed with someone, who has gone through so much of life, the process of aging and how they have managed it. Mr. Blackman taught me plenty about how to live life as it advances. I also have not had much experience working in group composed of people involved in nursing and social work. While I have experienced working in group, particularly working in a restaurant, this was a unique experience and one from which I have learned. Ultimately, this experience, these SAGE visits, helped to teach me about the importance of having a
No one ever expects to live out his or her later years in life in a nursing home. When people are young they may not realize the obstacles in life that may cause them not to have a place or person to spend their older years in life with. Regrettably, many of the elderly are not treated with the care and respect they deserve. “Poor quality of care is endemic in many nursing homes” (Fernandez, 2011). It is the responsibility of the younger generation to make sure that the elderly are taken care of and that neglect does not happen. Nursing homes have too many patients and not enough care-givers compared to home care that has familiar one on one care. Home-based
Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,
Active ageing does not stop when elderly people retire as they can remain active through their families, peers and communities. Active ageing aims allows elderly people to realise and bring awareness to their own psychological, physical and mental well-being as the goal active ageing is the autonomy and independence of elderly people (Alexandre, Cordeiro, & Ramos, 2009).
It’s a term used to describe a person's desire to live in ones own home and community for as long as possible. Aging in place does not fix an already existing problem. Aging is a human process that takes place over a period of time. The focus of aging-in-place is to help ensure loved-ones can live where they are - for as long as they can. Aging-in-Place Planning is a proactive planning process that documents, coordinates, and facilitates the arrangements of services including caregiving support needed to maintain a comfortable quality of life environment for self and love-one.
When we are young we never think about what we are going to be like when we are 80 or 90. We just think of the present. Aging is something almost everyone experience’s in their lifetime. Everyone ages at their own rate and time, thus no one has the same experience. Some theorists believe that as we age we become disengage from society, others believe it’s the choices we make that cause disengagement from society. It’s something psychologists have argued for a long time. There is not a lot of research done on how adults age because of participant drop outs for a numerous amount of reasons; for example health issues, death or forgetting about the study all together. Older adults do not choose to become disengaged from society; the choices they make are the ones that fit their personal lifestyle the best.
"Who does a son turn to, when his 78 year-old mother, newly admitted to a nursing home’s rehab unit, is experiencing delusions and screams through the night? Or where does a daughter turn to for help when she notices a rapid decline in her mother’s health and her mother refuses to seek medical care? Or the gentleman who believes it is time to a continuing care retirement community, but has no one to advise him on the myriad of financial and lifestyle implications of such a move? (Lederman, 2012)." Within in the field of home health care, ecological system creates an outline for defining what it means to provide quality care to the elderly.
Aged care is becoming such a huge part of our health system and society in general. It is so important that we come to an understanding on not only how it affects the community and society that we live in but the requirements that need to be met in order to care for older adults. Throughout this paper, we will discuss active ageing and the cultural, physical, economic and social well-being of older adults, as well as the affect that community as on the older population and visa-vasa. Accompanying this essay is a flyer that well be used to define active ageing, why it is important to individuals and the community. It is important to understand what active ageing is and that health is measured by more than just physical