6 Steps to Make Your Home More Elderly Friendly
Australia’s elderly population is notably on the upswing, with the Australian Institute of Family Studies reporting the highest concentration in the areas of Tasmania, South Australia, and New South Wales. The Australian Human Rights Commission, on the other hand, reports that by 2025, the number of senior citizens above 65 years old will overtake that of children aged 0-14 years old. The agency also reports positive precedents for life expectancy, as both the male and female population of the elderly typically live up to 80 years old.
Armed with such statistics about one of Australia’s key demographics, some good questions come to mind: what are the living conditions of our senior citizens like, and what constitutes a happy, healthy environment for them to live out the rest of their long lives?
Part of the answer lies at home. Majority of elderly Australians choose to remain at home and live as independently as possible, with only a quarter of the population aged 85 years old and above checking into a community home. The desire to stay in their homes, or those of their children, has set off the Australian healthcare sector’s pattern on giving proper care to the aged. But it is not only the doctors and caregivers who can do their part for the elderly; if you have pledged your support for an elderly relative and are in the position to make the calls, then certainly, you can take charge of making a home more conducive to their daily lives.
To help you make your home friendlier to the elderly, here’s a short list of action points for you to tick off, as well as recommendations of people to work with.
- Make sure that the home your relative will live in will have at least one first aid provider. In the absence of 24/7 medical care, those who live in your home must be prepared to address any imminent emergencies—especially since your elderly relative is much more susceptible to sickness and injury than they were before. Thus, one of the first things you should do is take a first aid training course in New South Wales or in your locality, and learn the techniques that will be useful in keeping your relative’s health up. Both parent-figures and older children in their teens can take charge of learning first aid; it’s been proven that even the youth are well-disposed to learn first aid and have the potential to help their elders out of difficult situations.
- Enlist the help of professionals. When welcoming an elderly relative into your home, you would want to start from a place of knowledge about what’s best for them. You might have already completed the steps of familiarising yourself with their doctor and obtaining a copy of their medical records for safekeeping. The preparatory work should also entail contacting the senior citizen’s geriatric care manager, occupational therapist, or other licensed specialist who can give proper input on home modifications. Ask for their assessment before moving on with any major refurbishments to the home.
- Start modifying the space, height, and support infrastructure of the house. Once you’ve acquired the go-signal from those who are qualified to make the assessments, then you can start the construction of more elderly-friendly infrastructure in the home. Some refurbishments that can be spearheaded are the instalment of safety rails, the expansion of hallways and corridors to be more accommodating to wheelchairs, and an easy walk-in shower. Have these refurbishments done to improve the mobility and balance of your elderlies.
- Brush up on the emergency response in your home. With a senior citizen in your home, it becomes doubly important to have your emergency plans in place. You have to make sure that the way is clear for everyone to get to safe ground. With that in mind, you may want to check the functionality of your fire alarms and emergency sensors, and remove all obstructions to your home’s fire exits. If your emergency plan did not already account for your elderly relative, brief everyone again about what they should do, where they should go, and who they should help in case of fire, earthquake, or flood.
- Clean the house and remove devices that aren’t safe to the elderly. As you get older, minor afflictions like falls, slips, bumps, and bruising could evolve into serious and debilitating injury. That’s why you will need to take extra care in your home, and address all the seemingly innocuous hazards—clumps of tangled electrical ware, puddles, slippery floors, wheeled furniture or toys (like skateboards), and the like. In addition, you should install non-slip mats in the bathroom and non-skid treads on the stairway, two places where it is easy to incur a bad fall.
- Keep your home open, bright, cheerful, and welcoming. Mental health conditions also beset our loved ones as they age; according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the two most common diagnoses are depression (47% of the elderly) and dementia (52%). Ensure that the home is a safe and happy place where they can feel supported, stay mentally sharp, and feel like they are of value. Encourage a habit among adults and children alike to spend quality time with the elderly residents when they are at home.
When you have achieved the goal of making your home more welcoming to your elderly loved ones, then you will have enabled them to age gracefully and without regret.
- https://www.humanrights.gov.au/face-facts-older-australians
- https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/health-welfare-services/aged-care/overview
- https://gen-agedcaredata.gov.au/Topics/Care-needs-in-aged-care
- https://aifs.gov.au/publications/elder-abuse/4-australias-older-population-demography-and-health-statistics
- https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/home-care/info-2017/home-safety-tips.html
- https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/home-safety-tips
- https://www.caregiverstress.com/senior-safety/making-home-safer/
- https://elizz.com/caregiver-resources/caregiving-tips/making-home-safe-for-seniors
