Aging At Home: Alternatives For Our Elders

The increase in the number of elderly people and in life expectancy is causing an increase in the population. Taking into account what the UN says (2019), the increase in the population over 65 is about to become one of the most significant social transformations of the 21st century.

This aging has consequences for almost all sectors of society. Getting older implies, to a greater or lesser extent, a deterioration in people’s abilities. For this reason, sometimes we need alternatives to make life easier for our elders, especially those who wish to grow old at home.

According to data from the report “World Population Prospects 2019”, in 2050, one in six people in the world will be over 65 years old (16%). Thus, that same report cited above estimates that the number of people aged 80 and over will triple, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050.

As the Spanish Society of Geriatric Medicine (SEMEG) says, a functional deterioration and, therefore, the loss of autonomy of the basic activities of daily life can end in institutionalization. Therefore, today we want to talk about the facilities and existing alternatives so that the elderly can have a good quality of life throughout their old age.

Alternative Adaptations for Aging at Home

Currently, the housing model has changed a lot. Right now, we have several ways that older people can maintain their independence as much as possible and age at home:

• Sheltered homes.
• Intergenerational housing.
• Cohousing.

But what happens when they want to keep their traditional home? There are other ways to make it easier:

• We must eliminate the barriers that exist at home. Avoid stairs for access to the house and for wandering within it. In the same way, if necessary, widen the doors to allow the passage of wheelchairs and the like.
• Another measure to be carried out would be to replace the bathtub with a shower tray at the same level as the floor. In addition, place grab bars, a non-slip floor and even bathroom chairs.
• In the kitchen, for example, it would be convenient to put everything you need at a low height. We must prevent the elderly from stooping or climbing to reach the tools. As for the glass-ceramic, there are alternatives with a timer system and with auto-off.

• Have smoke or fall sensors at home. These devices are available to users of some public services such as telecare.
• Good lighting.
• Avoid floor-level rugs or ornaments to prevent falls or trips.
• Installation of railings in the corridors to facilitate ambulation without technical aids inside the house.

Adaptations of the urban environment

We must bear in mind that people, as they age, have more physical limitations. This, therefore, implies difficulty in facing architectural barriers, traffic or public insecurity, among others.

Thus, those difficulties that we find ourselves in the environment generate falls, accidents and, therefore, a feeling of fear among the elderly that causes their isolation and inactivity.

Therefore, we want to highlight some aspects that would make life easier for the elderly (García, Sánchez and Román, 2019):

• Equipping public resource environments : providing infrastructures such as hospitals, day centers, centers for the elderly …
• Establishments necessary for the development of their daily life : pharmacies, supermarkets, shops …
• Elimination of architectural barriers : stairs, ramps with a lot of inclination … As well as provision of seats and public toilets.
• Incorporation of good signage, in addition to lighting that provides greater security.

Services and benefits for the elderly

• Telasistence : this system is characterized by being a prevention and support service. On many occasions, it is the public administration itself that offers it. It is immediate and permanent. In addition, it provides security both to the elderly who want to stay at home and grow old at home, as well as to the rest of the family.
• Home help service : it is a service intended to facilitate the development or maintenance of personal autonomy. Contrary to what many people believe, it is not a domestic cleaning service. Its objective is to promote the independence of users by helping and supporting the basic activities of daily life.
• Food delivery service.
• Provision of care in the family or similar environment : this benefit is an economic aid that is given to the main caregiver who takes care of the elderly or dependent person. It would be one of the alternatives for older people who do not want or cannot enjoy home help.

In short, providing and providing all these facilities and resources to the elderly would not only be a benefit for them. We must bear in mind that all of us, at some point, will be older. The quality of life at this stage of life is your right and our obligation.