This blog began as a journal of a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travel Award visit to the USA to study how Lifestyle Redesign could be used in Occupational Therapy to improve the hospital/home interface for older people. It has continued to record developments and inspiration gained from that experience since returning from Los Angeles early in 2012.

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Be Inspired-
WCMT travel awards are open to all British citizens

Be Involved- learn about Lifestyle Redesign programs and contribute to the discussion about the potential of this approach.

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Friday 20 April 2012

R is for Risk.....

 
As Occupational Therapists we are often asked is it ‘safe’ for an older person to return home from hospital; what are the ‘risks’? Generally, this is referring to physical safety risks- will the person fall? Is there a steep stair-case with no rails? Might they set the kitchen on fire by forgetting a pan left on?

There is always a push to get patients home and free up beds, and of course hospital is not a good place for an older person to be. There is not the luxury of unlimited time to spend following up on someone who has recently got home from hospital. All these factors can mean that in planning for an older person’s return home, the emphasis on ‘safety’ means requiring them to not engage in certain occupations or use certain parts of their home, to become dependent instead of independent. There is a balance to be struck, and sometimes the person feels it is time to let go of previous occupations themselves, but there is a danger of discouraging valued occupations that contribute to an individual’s sense of self-efficacy and well-being.

In my J post, I looked at a paper by Jackson (in Zemke & Clark 1996- see books tab at top of page) called “Living a Meaningful Existence in Old Age’. One of the factors that she identified as contributing to a meaningful life was the chance to take ‘risks’. This did not mean doing dangerous or foolhardy things, but that people still wanted the opportunity to try new things, to learn new skills, to succeed or fail, to experience new things, to have challenge and excitement. It could also mean choosing to continue to engage in an activity that is personally meaningful. When an individual becomes disabled, they are often deprived of these opportunities.

As OTs our job is to enable individuals to participate in their chosen occupations as safely as possible, not to stop them! I’d be very interested to hear people’s thoughts on this.

1 comment:

  1. HI, stopping by on the A to Z Challenge. I hit my "randomize" button and wound up here.

    I'm so glad I did. I clicked "follow" and will be back to read your posts in depth.

    S is for Shepherdstown, WV on Main Street Arts

    http://mainstreetarts.blogspot.com/2012/04/spotlight-shepherdstown-wv.html

    ReplyDelete