Living in one's home for as long as possible is very desirable for 88% of persons between the ages of 50 and 80. However, over half of them (47%) give their living arrangements little to no thought. Increasing home safety should be the main goal of these changes.
Why is having a safe place to live important for the elderly, and how can you make your home safer as you age?
Let's respond to each of those concerns in order.
There is a demand for increased home safety as people age.
In-home safety is a significant issue that is related to older persons' quality of life as they age because many seniors are choosing to remain in their current residences.
It helps with the following:
- Promoting physical well-being
- Taking care of one's mental health
- Increasing your comfort
- Maintaining independence for a longer period of time
- Bringing peace of mind to your family
According to the findings, older persons who live alone are noticeably more susceptible to fraud, robbery, and burglary. They are increasingly falling prey to con artists. This is just one of many factors that make it essential to provide a safer living environment for senior people.
How to Keep a Senior Safe at Home
Use these methods to achieve security for aging in place.
1. Request a home safety inspection
How do you know what safety measures are lacking in your home? By conducting a home safety audit, of course.
The CEO of The Annuity Expert, Shawn Plummer, claims that "Medicare Part B, one of the health insurance plans in the US, covers home safety inspections. However, for some treatments, you might be required to pay a coinsurance fee for this inspection of 20% of the total cost. During a 'Welcome to Medicare' preventive visit, it is possible to have a home safety evaluation for free.
As an alternative, you could employ experts to evaluate the property's level of safety. The price of this service ranges from $150 to $500 depending on the size and location of the property.
Here is a list of businesses to think about:
- Home of Mine
- Live In Place
- Age Safe America
- Universal Home Consulting
- LivWell Seniors
- Home Safety Innovations
What if we told you that you could use just one technique to assess the level of safety for elderly residents in any home? Age Friendly Ireland created a ranking system for landlords and tenants. Any kind of dwelling in an urban or rural setting can use it. Download this age-friendly homes rating system.
2. Make your own aging-in-place checklist (or use a ready made one)
The following is a checklist for an aging-in-place residence that includes room-by-room safety and home accessibility upgrades:
? Kitchen
Pull-out shelves, grabber tools, spill-proof cups, appliance timers, automatic turn-off gadgets, plasticware rather than glass, etc. are a few items you may need to consider.
? Bedrooms
An adjustable bed, a waterproof mattress protector, a bed rail, a bedside fall mat, a medication organizer, etc. should all be present in a senior-accessible bedroom.
? Living room
Look for the following elements in and around the living room to increase home safety for senior citizens aging in place: supportive and durable furniture, well-lit walkways, clear flooring, lift chairs, transfer aids, stand assist handles, etc.
? Hallways and entries
A bench is necessary for removing shoes in this location. To make your home accessible for elderly people using wheelchairs and walkers, you might also need to expand doorways and put in ramps.
In general, grab bars in every room and no-slip wax or strips on the floors are smart home safety solutions for senior citizens.
3. Make all necessary repairs and fixes
Check the staircase. Your hardwood floors may have popped nails or loose floorboards. These are the most typical house issues that raise the risk of mishaps.
To identify your demands for home remodeling, you might need to take a tour around the house. Your home may be at risk because of a leaking roof, damaged windows, blocked gutters, or other external factors. It may be necessary to entirely remodel or renovate the house in some circumstances when fixing a roof, door, or window is insufficient, he continues.
Projects for improving a home might be very expensive, yet they are often necessary. Homeowner loans, personal loans, or remortgaging your home are all options for financing property upgrades.
4. Get rid of potential dangers
According to a Home Instead Senior Care research, 65% of US adults said there is at least one potential safety concern in their parents' homes.It is important to remember that falls are a major contributor to both fatal and non-fatal injuries in seniors. In fact, an older adult in the US receives emergency department care for a fall every 11 seconds.
Additionally, senior pet owners are more likely to sustain injuries from falls. Consider taking additional home safety precautions if you are bringing a pet into the house. To keep pet toys and supplies for feeding and watering off of walkways, designate a play area for pets and establish a special place for them.
Let's examine some additional potential dangers to seniors' safety at home:
- Items that could cause a trip or fall (cords, wires, small carpets, unstable furniture)
- Slippery surfaces (severe health risks in your kitchen and bathroom from grease or liquid spills)
- Breakable object
- Knives, table corners, and other pointed things
5. Ensure adequate lighting
According to Jesse Galanis, a content creator for Real Estate Skills, "installing adequate lights is an important step for creating a safe home for a senior person."
"On the one hand, it lessens mobility barriers. However, it is impossible to discount the importance of good illumination for older mental health. It can assist seniors in creating a comfortable environment at home, prevent anxiety and melancholy moods, and enhance sleep, according to him.
You can quickly find some lighting options to improve your mood and sleep. Additionally, you should be aware of the lighting requirements of aging eyes. Up to 6.1 million Americans 65 and older suffer from eyesight loss. People frequently have trouble focusing, adjusting from a darker to a brighter place and vice versa, and distinguishing colors as they get older.
Reduce reflections and shadows, create a smooth light transition from room to room, and choose pleasing room colors (peach, terracotta, gold, brown, bright green, or blue) when updating your lighting.
6. Boosting household security with smart technologies
Why not use smart home technologies to make a property more secure?
Use these advantages:
- Security cameras
- Video doorbells
- Panic buttons or Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS)
- Fall detection and glass break sensors
- Fire and flood monitoring technology
- Virtual assistants (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant)
- Automatic door locks and lights
Devices with smart home technology are essential instruments for elder safety. Not to mention how much they make life easier for seniors.
The ideas for senior household safety covered here can be used as a guide to design a setting that reduces hazards and maximizes the well-being of seniors.
You can age-proof your home and stay on the safest side of life by putting into practice measures like home safety audits, room-by-room checklists, home repairs, potential threat removal, proper illumination, and smart home gadgets.
Let aging bring you happiness and good health!
