According to global reports, the home healthcare market size was valued for more than USD 281 billion, in the financial year of 2019. Also, it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9% from 2020 to 2027. It can’t be disputed that we dwell in an age of transformation, where everything has been through a significant evolution. Given so many changes, we have become more inclined towards nuclear families, and unfortunately, our elders end up living alone in the senior years. With this, a professional aged patient care services has become an important aspect. Furthermore, in joint families, family members often fail to make the required time for their beloved elders.
Therefore, home-based health care services have become the need of the hour. The professional, caring services take care of your elders in your absence. Also, the professional carers do not only render better healthcare facilities to the seniors at their home but also ensure an overall happy life for them.
Importance of Caring for the Elderly
Old age can be a challenging experience, it is that stage of life when human health starts deteriorating, and they become dependent on others for your daily activities. This is the time when the elderly need the most care.
As people get older, they get more vulnerable to illnesses and other ailments that can affect their quality of life. This means that for some older people to continue living at their fullest, they need the additional support of carers and other health professionals. Furthermore, people live longer than they ever did before, meaning that older adults will need this kind of care for a longer portion of their lives, making it even more critical.
If you also consider the fact that the population as a whole is getting older, it means that more and more people will require care. This makes caring for the elderly even more important as people that fall into this category will make up a large proportion of the entire population.
Furthermore, when they age, many people lose the ability to complete specific significant tasks that are fundamental for living. With some seniors unable to do these tasks for themselves, they then become at serious risk of dying, or at the very least, they will suffer a really poor quality of life.
These specific tasks that are essential to living are called the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). They’re split into two groups, Basic ADLs and Instrumental ADLs. Those who cannot complete all of the basic ADLs independently will need consistent care and supervision. However, those who are okay with the basics that struggle with the Instrumental ADLs might only require some assistance. Regardless, these tasks are used as metrics to determine how much care a senior needs, if any. Here’s a look at each of these broken down into more detail.
Basic ADLs
There are six basic ADLs. If an individual cannot do these themselves, then significant care will be required. They are:
- Functional mobility. This evaluates the individual’s ability to walk around and go through their daily routine without pain or other issues. It also evaluates if the person can transfer themselves in and out of a chair or bed. An individual can be semi-mobile but might require some support in the form of extra handles near a bead or chair for grip and better leverage. Some people seniors might also be given walking aids such as a cane to help them walk around better and maintain some form of independence.
- Personal Hygiene. This evaluates the ability one has to care for themselves and look after their appearance and cleanliness. This includes their ability to brush their teeth, groom their hair, and apply any skincare, such as sunscreen. Personal hygiene is important as, without it, the individual will start to deteriorate healthwise and might also be uncomfortable to engage in social activity as a result.
- Showering and/or Bathing. This looks at the person’s ability to clean themselves competently. This is one that many seniors struggle with because showering will involve a lot of needed balance and strength. Plus, a slip or fall in this environment can be dangerous. To pass this evaluation, the individual must be able to get in and out of the shower comfortably as well as operate the appliance safely. For example, not being able to control the temperature of the shower can lead to burns.
- This evaluation checks to ensure that the individual can comfortably use the lavatory without any issues. This includes their ability to get onto the toilet seat as well as off of it. It also includes one’s ability to clean themselves afterward. This is really important because if they cannot do this, it will really impact their hygiene.
- This task ensures that an individual is able to dress appropriately. This includes putting on the clothes themselves without pain or straining, checking their ability to button-up shirts, putting on socks, zip-up coats, and more. It is also interested in checking the dresser’s ability to select appropriate attire for the situation that they’re wearing it for. For example, if a person chooses to wear a t-shirt and shorts in the cold winter, then they would fail this test.
- Self-feeding. The final basic ADL is self-feeding. This is pretty obvious why it’s important because if an individual is unable to feed themselves, they will starve. This is only interested in a person’s ability to use cutlery and put the food into their mouths so that they can chew it. It is not concerned with their ability to cook.
If a person can complete all of these basic ADLs, they likely do not require significant care constantly. However, there are also more complicated activities that will also need to be evaluated. These are the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living.
Instrumental ADLs
These tasks are not essential for basic functioning. However, a senior would struggle to live independently within a community without doing these tasks. This is why an evaluation is taken place to see if these can be done and if a senior needs some assistance. These evaluations are done by healthcare professionals who specialize in elderly care. At the moment, it’s a fairly in-demand role, and this is due to the rise in the aging population. This means that becoming a carer or any other role within healthcare can be a very secure job opportunity. To start a career in healthcare, you will need qualifications, starting with a BSN. If you want a more advanced career, you should take the extra time to become a family nurse practitioner, which you can get with online FNP programs. Being more advanced with your career could open up more job opportunities, putting you ahead of the competition.
Here’s a more in-depth look at everything involved with the instrumental ADLs:
- This involves everything that is required to keep a home in order. This includes things such as being able to clean a home and keep it clean and the ability to complete laundry and other home care chores, such as relatively simple things like changing a lightbulb. This is an important thing that people need to be able to do as being unable to keep your house clean and in order will make it far more uncomfortable to live in. If a person cannot do this themselves, then a housekeeper’s support can help care for them while also allowing them to maintain their independence.
- Money Management. This looks into a senior’s ability to be sensible with their finances and look after it in the best way. This includes their ability to create a weekly budget, complete bank transfers to buy things, and even tier ability to store it in bank accounts. It also evaluates how safe they are with their money, as many seniors are victims of scams.
- Meal Preparation. This daily living task looks into a person’s ability to cook for themselves and make meals to sustain themselves. It also looks into their ability to keep their kitchen stocked with the foods that they need. If they’re unable to cook for themselves, then care facilities will be able to provide their own meals.
- To lead an independent life, everyone will need to be able to complete shopping to get the resources and equipment everyone needs to function in society. This test evaluates a person’s ability to write a shopping list, get themselves to a store, and complete all their purchases. Some seniors can find this difficult and overwhelming, which is why care can be supplied where the groceries and other necessities are handled on their behalf.
- Medication Management. A lot of older people will be on some sort of medication to either manage pain or other illnesses and ailments. This test evaluates their ability to manage their medicine. This involves their ability to take the right medication at the right time. It can be quite a serious issue if a senior cannot complete this themselves as it might mean that they miss out on taking essential medication, which can do them some harm. A care facility will be able to supply the appropriate medication as and when they need it.
- Using the phone or the computer. Twenty years ago, this wouldn’t have been an ADL; however, as technology plays a major role in modern life, seniors must be literate in it to stay connected and perform various functions. This test checks a seniors’ ability to make phone calls and texts properly, without mistakes or issues, and their ability to complete things on a computer, such as sending emails and browsing the web. If they cannot do this, a carer will be able to help them complete this and even organize important calls on their behalf.
Now, after learning when a person might need care, Below are the key points that justify the importance of caring for the elderly:
Who Can Enjoy The Benefits of Critical Care At Home?
Critical care or ICU at home costs even less than 50% from the hospital-based critical care. Addressing the point versus the previous ones, it is seen that patients also recover faster within the comfort of their home. With home nurse services, elder care at home has become a reliable option to care for the elderly. It helps the elders to live a life with dignity. Critical care services at home can be availed by-
- Senior citizens who are dependent on medical equipment to function on an everyday basis. Elders cannot use the different types of equipment by themselves; this is why they require a healthcare professional to help them.
- Elderly people with terminal diseases can also avail critical care services. With professional caring, they get complete support for their everyday task and better care for their health and medication.
- Cancer patients who require continuous physical support can also hire home-based care service. It will help them to heal faster and prevent other chronic disorders that cancer patients are vulnerable to.
- Critical care at home is also a trusted way of caring for elders who have been through tracheostomy procedure and require 24*7 support.
Prepare Your Home For In-Home Eldercare
While caring for elders at home, you should not forget to make your home risk free by following the below steps:
- Handrails that secure the entire length must be installed on both sides of the stairs. In case of potential slipping, handrails provide support and stability to a person to regain balance. Furthermore, handrails help the elderly with the safe use of stairs because they can catch them.
- The entire stairs should be well lit so that the edges are visible properly.
- The stairs should be clean to prevent falls in the elderly.
- Install non-slippery mats in the entire house, especially in the washroom.
- It is necessary to install nightlight on the bathroom and the entire passage.
The Bottom Line
Are you also looking for reliable care of elderly for your beloved elderly? Well! There are various elder care services available out there, such as Emoha.
Emoha is a trusted place for aged care in India. The staff at Emoha works with an elder first approach. No matter what type of eldercare service you avail from Emoha, they always keep elders’ health and comfort at the top. You can connect with them at 1800-123-445555 or eldersfirst@emoha.com.
