Safety in Elderly Nursing Home Design: An Overlooked Patient Safety Issue

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-32
Author(s):  
Sharifah Hana Binti Abd Rahman ◽  
Nor ‘Adha Ab Hamid ◽  
Mohd Farok Mat Nor ◽  
Nur Zulfah Md Abdul Salam ◽  
Mashitah Binti Nabees Khan
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Interior Design ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Safety Issue ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Care Patient ◽  
Nursing Home Care ◽  
Holistic Understanding

Various studies have shown that alongside the social and psychological factors, the design and architectural appearance of a nursing home can have a great impact on the safety of the elderly residing in such place. However, the deficiency of information on how these factors can be operationalized in practice is not provided for architects and interior designers. Therefore, this study is aimed to inspect which architectural factors contribute to maximize the elderly patient safety and how these can be implemented in the architectural and policy guidelines. The objective of this study is also to get better understanding of potential opportunities and challenges associated with interior design that may promote well-being, aging in place, and independent living of the senior citizens. A holistic understanding of which factors influence the maximum safety could lead to improvements of the elderly nursing home designs and the residents. In order to take precautions, we must first understand the unique risks faced by the seniors at home. Keywords: Elderly, Nursing Home, Care, Patient Safety

Trends in Care and Services for Elderly Individuals in Denmark and Sweden

1993 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Cates
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Nursing Home Care ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Care Community

Both Denmark and Sweden have achieved a reduction in institutionalization of elderly individuals; 23 percent nursing home care in Denmark from 1980–89 and 34 percent overall institutionalization in Sweden from 1970–1985. This was accomplished by increasing home care and housing with services and adaptations. Further increases in growth of the elderly population combined with modest economic expansion will be the forces responsible for finding additional alternatives to costly institutional care. Community-based services and care have not been demonstrated at this time to be less costly than institutional care. An illustration of an innovative model of nursing home care in Denmark is described. The medical model of care was abandoned in favor of a self-care model for the purpose of fostering independent living and decision-making as long as possible. In Sweden, a reduction in demand for beds in a long-term care hospital has been achieved through a tightly coordinated system of care and services among the various health and social service professionals.

scholarly journals Monitoring Health Parameters of Elders to Support Independent Living and Improve Their Quality of Life

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 517
Author(s):  
Ilia Adami ◽  
Michalis Foukarakis ◽  
Stavroula Ntoa ◽  
Nikolaos Partarakis ◽  
Nikolaos Stefanakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Health And Well Being

Improving the well-being and quality of life of the elderly population is closely related to assisting them to effectively manage age-related conditions such as chronic illnesses and anxiety, and to maintain their independence and self-sufficiency as much as possible. This paper presents the design, architecture and implementation structure of an adaptive system for monitoring the health and well-being of the elderly. The system was designed following best practices of the Human-Centred Design approach involving representative end-users from the early stages.

The Herth Hope Index—A Psychometric Study Among Cognitively Intact Nursing Home Patients

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gørill Haugan ◽  
Britt Karin Støen Utvær ◽  
Unni Karin Moksnes
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Nursing Home Care ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Home Setting ◽  
Nursing Home Patients ◽  
Herth Hope Index ◽  
Cognitively Intact

Background and Purpose: Hope is seen as the act by which the temptation of despair is actively overcome and has thus been interpreted as an inner strength and an available resource for living in the present. An understanding of hope and its meaning in the lives of institutionalized older adults may aid in developing interventions to enhance hope and well-being in the nursing home setting. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Herth Hope Index among cognitively intact nursing home patients. Methods: Cross-sectional data was obtained in 2008 and 2009 from 202 of 250 patients who met the inclusion criteria in 44 different nursing homes. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed 3 internal consistent dimensions of hope, explaining 51.2% of the variance. The 1-factor, 2-factor, and the originally 3-factor solutions of the Herth Hope Index were tested by means of confirmatory factor analysis. A 2-factor construct comprising 11 items came out with the best model fit. Conclusions: The Herth Hope Index was found to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing hope in nursing home patients. The 2-factor structure was psychometrically superior the original 3-factor construct of hope in this particular sample. The Herth Hope Index might be used to assess hope and changes in the hope process during long-term nursing home care. An enhanced understanding of hope in this population might contribute to increased quality of nursing home care.

scholarly journals The Physical Environment of Nursing Homes for People with Dementia: Traditional Nursing Homes, Small-Scale Living Facilities, and Green Care Farms

Healthcare ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bram de Boer ◽  
Hanneke Beerens ◽  
Melanie Katterbach ◽  
Martina Viduka ◽  
Bernadette Willemse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Nursing Home Care ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Green Care Farms

It is well recognized that the physical environment is important for the well-being of people with dementia. This influences developments within the nursing home care sector where there is an increasing interest in supporting person-centered care by using the physical environment. Innovations in nursing home design often focus on small-scale and homelike care environments. This study investigated: (1) the physical environment of different types of nursing homes, comparing traditional nursing homes with small-scale living facilities and green care farms; and (2) how the physical environment was being used in practice in terms of the location, engagement and social interaction of residents. Two observational studies were carried out. Results indicate that the physical environment of small-scale living facilities for people with dementia has the potential to be beneficial for resident’s daily life. However, having a potentially beneficial physical environment did not automatically lead to an optimal use of this environment, as some areas of a nursing home (e.g., outdoor areas) were not utilized. This study emphasizes the importance of nursing staff that provides residents with meaningful activities and stimulates residents to be active and use the physical environment to its full extent.

scholarly journals End-of-Life Communication Among Chinese Elderly in a Malaysian Nursing Home

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-70
Author(s):  
Ng Xi Jiao ◽  
Nur Atikah Mohamed Hussin
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Nursing Home Care ◽  
The North ◽  
End Of Life Communication ◽  
Residents Attitudes

Religion and culture play important roles in influencing end-of-life communication among the elderly. However, little is known about end-of-life communication among elderly nursing home residents. A qualitative study involving a sample of 13 elderly residents of a non- government nursing home in the north of Peninsular Malaysia was conducted to investigate residents’ attitudes and ideas about their end-of-life preferences. Thematic analysis was performed to identify major themes emerging from the interviews. This study found that elderly residents actively avoided end-of-life communication, but that their cultural and religious beliefs remained of paramount importance. It is hoped that these findings will provide a platform upon which to improve current nursing home care in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Reasoning support for risk prediction and prevention in independent living

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 361-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. MILEO ◽  
D. MERICO ◽  
R. BISIANI
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Expressive Power ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Care For The Elderly ◽  
Prediction And Prevention ◽  
Correlation Rules

AbstractIn recent years there has been a growing interest in solutions for the delivery of clinical care for the elderly because of the large increase in aging population. Monitoring a patient in his home environment is necessary to ensure continuity of care in home settings, but, to be useful, this activity must not be too invasive for patients and a burden for caregivers. We prototyped a system called Secure and INDependent lIving (SINDI), focused on (a) collecting a limited amount of data about the person and the environment through Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), and (b) inferring from these data enough information to support caregivers in understanding patients' well-being and in predicting possible evolutions of their health. Our hierarchical logic-based model of health combines data from different sources, sensor data, tests results, common-sense knowledge and patient's clinical profile at the lower level, and correlation rules between health conditions across upper levels. The logical formalization and the reasoning process are based on Answer Set Programming. The expressive power of this logic programming paradigm makes it possible to reason about health evolution even when the available information is incomplete and potentially incoherent, while declarativity simplifies rules specification by caregivers and allows automatic encoding of knowledge. This paper describes how these issues have been targeted in the application scenario of the SINDI system.

Creation of Outdoor Space for the Elderly

2013 ◽  
Vol 671-674 ◽  
pp. 2185-2188
Author(s):  
Hong Yun Xin
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Urban Elderly ◽  
Outdoor Activities ◽  
Outdoor Space ◽  
Mental Well Being

With a rapid increase of the urban elderly population in China, it has become more and more important that suitable outdoor environment should be constructed for the aged. This paper puts forward some ideas and suggestions on how to create space for various outdoor activities for the aged in their neighborhood to meet their life, physiological, psychological and social needs of outdoor activities, as well as analyses a varied and multi-leveled environment for outdoor activities beneficial to their physical and mental well being and their capability of independent living, and there is a hope that it will be good to their health and longevity. In order to promote the sound development of the society, it is necessary to appeal for people's attention to the construction of outdoor environment for the aged.

scholarly journals Does Informal Care from Adult Children Reduce Nursing Home Admissions for the Elderly?

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony T. Lo Sasso ◽  
Richard W. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Informal Care ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Oldest Old ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Nursing Home Care ◽  
Health Dynamics ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Despite the policy importance, particularly as society ages, little is known about the impact of informal care on nursing home admissions. This paper jointly models the receipt of regular help from adult children and subsequent nursing home care, using data from the Study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD). Results indicate that frequent help from children with basic personal care reduces the likelihood of nursing home use over a subsequent two-year period by about 60% for disabled Americans age 70 and older. However, we found no significant reduction in nursing home admissions when help was measured more broadly to include assistance with chores and errands.

scholarly journals Planning for mental wellbeing in an old age home during the Covid-19 pandemic by homoeopathic institution: Structuring the intervention

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 106-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansi Surati ◽  
Manoj Kanchanbhai Patel ◽  
Sunita Bhanudas Nikumbh ◽  
Rajesh Ramkunwar Yadav ◽  
Abhishek Dnyaneshwar Kukde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Learning Principles ◽  
Mental Well Being

Objectives: During the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the risk to the mental well-being of the elderly living in an old age home (OAH) has increased considerably. Dealing with this issue requires special measures. The current literature has very few examples of such programmes. We aimed to promote emotional balance and an independent living with positive outlook on life among the residents of the OAH facility during the pandemic based on action learning principles. This programme was conducted in an OAH that our institute has been associated with for several years. HelpAge India, a non-governmental organisation working in India to assist disadvantaged senior citizens, provided a programme that covered 12 themes. This article deals with the structuring process of the programme. Materials and Methods: The team comprised homoeopathic consultants and the faculty and students of a postgraduate homoeopathic institute. An extensive literature search and consultation with experts from various fields enabled the team to plan and build the final programme were evolved. Results: Broad themes gave rise to distinct modules and objectives were derived for each of these. Detailed action plans were worked out and a plan of evaluation for each of these modules was worked out. Conclusion: Planning a programme to ensure well-being needs a close and accurate identification of the needs of the residents of a particular OAH. A multidisciplinary approach can help in evolving effective strategies to formulate models for geriatric mental well-being.

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