Why Home Care is Important for the Well-Being of Senior Citizens?
As humans we have to go through five crucial stages of life including birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Each of these phases comes with unique challenges. However, as we grow old, our physical strength and mental stability lessens. According to available data India has around 120 million elderly people and many of these people have physical, psychosocial, economic problems. Moreover, a lot of them are afflicted with different medical conditions, most have issues like high or low blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure issues, arthritis, cancer malignancy, joint pains, or renal infection. Additionally, elders facing cognitive challenges go through serious personality changes. Such individuals need constant care and attention. If left unattended, they are overwhelmed with feelings of dejection, or purposelessness.
Functionally and cognitively, healthy elderly or older adults can access regular health-care facilities at hospitals and clinics. However, the senior citizens afflicted with mild functional issues or cognitive impairment, need assistance for their daily living. These individuals typically fall in the age group of 70–90 plus years. But these older adults who need constant support and care do have the option of elder home care services to keep them safe and independent. Elder home care service, which includes physiotherapy, psychological support, and consistent, regular medical help, is highly beneficial for their general health and betterment.
Why is home care important to senior citizens?
Elderly people deserve a healthy and dignified life filled with care, love and affection. It is pertinent to note that it’s not just disease that affects old age. Elderly people also suffer from anxiety and depression as they could feel unwanted and dependent. They may need supervision and support. But sometimes they are not able to realise their needs. They often worry, feel depressed and they start regarding themselves as a burden to the family. Understanding their needs and concerns is essential to supporting them in good health since emotional support keeps them happy and thereby healthy. However, for some, especially the working couples, it might be difficult to provide care and attention to elders personally.
This is where geriatric care comes into play since it is a niche area of medical care which focuses only on older adults and deals with improving health care for elderly people. It promotes wellbeing of the elderly by preventing and treating diseases that often come with ageing. Geriatric care, also known as elder home care services, involves offering help to older adults at their home. With DocGenie’s highly personalised geriatric home care services you will be at peace knowing that your loved ones are in good hands.
Services that make elder home care services important for senior citizens –
- Maintenance of health by offering utmost comfort with facilities like comfortable bed, clean bed sheet, and a healthy, nutritious meal. Also, keeping the surroundings clean.
- Detecting diseases early and worsening of existing health issues. Closely monitoring their psychophysical changes, if any. Also, helping them maintain external genitalia hygiene.
- Prioritising preferences and needs of the elderly and empowering their decision-making skill.
- Offering them kind, patient, and sympathetic support which encourage communication. Also offering support in taking care of their vision, auditory and dental aid.
- Ensuring a healthy sleeping pattern.
- Encouraging their sense of independence. This is often done by teaching and encouraging them to maintain body hygiene and do the easy daily tasks.
- Promoting their emotional stability by encouraging mental perception, sensory input and physical activities to strengthen self-esteem and confidence.
- Making them feel comfortable at their home. Eliminating the risk of injuries, falls, and accidents by providing a safe surrounding. This includes installing shower bars, adding slip-proof coverings in bathrooms, moving their daily items to the lower cabinets to make functioning easier, and removing clutter from floors to prevent falls.
- Offering diversion or occupational therapy and helping them exercise to maintain body alignment and posture and ensuring as much mobility as possible.
- Making them feel safe to share their physical and emotional needs.
- Taking them for their routine physical check-ups.
Home care options
Today, there are several home care services for senior citizens that claim to offer top-quality services to the elderly. However, the geriatric health care team of the best service providers will have geriatric medicine specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, lab test services, and pharmacy services at home. If you need such services for your elder family member/s make sure to select a highly professional and ace service provider. Remember! The health and well-being of your loved ones will be in their hands!