This month’s digest focuses on the different facets of aging in place. We have compiled 10 articles and studies by industry experts to explore the various parts of this growing trend across generations.
Aging in place is becoming the dream to achieve for most seniors and soon-to-be retirees. After all, who can deny its appeal? You get to stay in the house you built as you receive the care that you need. You get to live in the same community you are comfortable with, and you get to be surrounded by the people you have grown to trust and love. If given a chance, would anyone replace that for a small, expensive, and unfamiliar room at a nursing facility? Although these facilities certainly have their benefits, especially when you need the specialized kind of care, nothing can beat the comforts of your own home.
Download our free infographic about the Types of Long Term Care and Where to Get Them to learn about the different care settings available in the industry today.
Thankfully, insurance policies do provide the means to age in place, and this is why older individuals must be proactive in using long term care assessment tools. Not many people are aware of the benefits of such coverage. They go through life and cross the retirement threshold without realizing that there are other ways to goal of aging in place.
Moreover, the number of older individuals taking measures and making adjustments to their living spaces has increased over the years. As studies point out, the amount of home improvement spending made by homeowner age 55 and older have jumped from less than a third to nearly a half. This is also where long term care insurance policies come in hand as these may cost money spent on these modifications could have been allocated to other more pressing matters.
To learn more about aging in place and the other concepts surrounding it, let’s take a look at what the experts have to say below:
How to Care for Your Aging Parents
Growing older and requiring long term care does not only concern one individual. For most cases, it affects families and loved ones in potentially catastrophic ways. This is why planning for long term care should include the entire family. As Lifehacker’s Melanie Pinola shares through Get Old, adult children should also be hands-on when it comes to their aging parents’ care and well-being. They must take active measures in making sure that their parents are secured, healthy, and receiving the care and assistance that they need. And more importantly, they must remember to keep their parents in the loop as this is their health they are discussing.
Aging In Place Needs Out Of The Box Thinking
Related to long term care, aging in place is not just the concern of the individual, and one cannot achieve it on his or her own. It can be done successfully through the collective effort of the community and the government, as well as the various organizations and businesses in the country. As shared on Forbes.com, aging issues are here to say whether or not the people are happy with the new administration. In order to reap the benefits of aging in place—prolonged good health or reduced rehab expenses for those who suffer from falls—each individual or organization in the society must apply an out-of-the-box approach to aging care.
2016 Aging-in-Place Report
Aging in place is more than just installing grab bars and wheelchair ramps. HomeAdvisor’s Marianne Cusato makes a striking point by stating that aging in place must be rebranded. She further explains this by sharing that older individuals do not simply wish to age, they want to thrive in place. Through extensive research and claims backed up by various statistical data, this report provides a valuable look at what it means to grow old in America today.
Aging in Place
Too much information can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to something as important as long term care and aging in place. There can be too many aspects and factors that it can push the individuals learning about the concept for the first time in the opposite direction. This is why simplified explanations are often the best at reaching out to the majority. Complicated concepts packaged in a direct and easy-to-understand post. This is how Porter Hills breaks down aging in place in order to make it easier to understand.
When Aging In Place Puts Baby Boomers In A Tough Place
When it comes to aging in place, individuals and their families must also be aware of the risks and negative impacts. As Derek Dunham’s post for MediaPost highlights, aging in place may be ideal for most situations, but older individuals must also know when it can be detrimental not just for their health but their loved ones, as well. It puts their health in danger and their adult children in a compromising position.
15 Home Modifications to Make Aging-in-Place Safe
As stated above, making home modifications early to accommodate the various needs that come with growing old certainly has its benefits. Although aging in place for some situations may require more advanced technologies to be installed, some easier cases can allow individuals to make the adjustments themselves or through the help of professionals. SeniorAdvisor.com shares 15 ways older individuals can make their homes safer.
Smartphones and older adults – the good and not so good news
Technology has changed the way we live our lives. Nowadays, it is close to impossible to find someone without a smartphone, a tablet, or other similar devices. In fact, In fact, as Laurie Orlov of Aging in Place Technology Watch points out, the percentage of smartphone ownership among older adults is at 42%. However, the article points out one flaw in this development: the lack of action to ensure security. Older adults are far less likely to take measures to secure their smartphones from various threats, which may open the doors for elder abuse and data theft.
What helps Minnesota seniors age in place? U researcher has some clues
What are the challenges that older individuals face if they want to age in place successfully? Claude Peck of the Star Tribune provides a glimpse of how life is like for seniors as they try to navigate today’s world. What may seem insignificant and normal to younger, able-bodied people, such as sidewalk heights and unshoveled streets, may pose quite a struggle to older individuals.
Wayne seeking local input, from young, old alike, for aging-in-place initiative
Wayne residents offer a great example of a community working together to build a better living space for their older members. Central Maine’s Charles Eichacker features the town’s aging in place initiative that will help older residents in their community to stay in their area as long as they want.
Accommodating mobility, vision issues promotes aging in place
Getting older may have its advantages, but it can also have some noteworthy disadvantages. Judith Graham shares on StarAdvertiser how contractors and builders ought to take into consideration the limitations that seniors have as they grow older. In order to age in place, their living spaces must be outfitted with features that enhance accessibility. Unfortunately, less than 10 percent of seniors live in spaces that fit the criteria.
Final Thoughts
The older population is rapidly growing. In 2014, the number was already at 46.3 million, but it is expected to increase to 98 million by 2060. We must address the issues that they face, and we have to do it now.
Aging in place is a big challenge for older individuals, and we still have to learn about when it comes to the challenges and risks. This only shows why health literacy is important in elder care and why we must work together as a community in establishing a safe environment where our elderly loved ones can not only age in place but also thrive in their own space.