When Elderly Adults Refuse Mobility Aides
Caregiver Modesto CA – When Elderly Adults Refuse Mobility Aides
Many family caregivers and senor care aides know what it is like to work with a stubborn elderly person. Not only are they pretty set in their ways, they often resist any attempts to help them in any way. When elderly adults are growing unsteady on their feet or have recently had an illness or surgery that affects their balance, they may need a walking device to stay safe and upright. However, getting an elderly adult to use a cane or a walker can be difficult if they don’t want one.
Why Seniors May Need Mobility Aides
Wheelchairs, walking sticks, canes and walkers are all designed to provide a person with stability and support as they get around. There are many factors that may lead to balance and mobility problems in the elderly as they age. Top reasons are vision problems, vertigo, mediation side effects, muscle weakness and lower stamina. More serious reasons include a stroke, hip replacement, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and during cancer treatments.
Doctors, physical therapists and occupational therapists will often recommend a walking device when they are needed and instruct the patient on how and when to use them. Not all mobility aides are the same, so some may be just right for the condition while others will be too much or too little.
Why Seniors Refuse Mobility Aides
Even if wheelchairs, canes, walkers and walking sticks will help an elderly person be more mobile, many refuse to use them. Usually, they associate these things with old age and dependency and they don’t want to face the facts that they may need one. Other reasons include how they want to be perceived. In other words, they don’t want to look old!
Sometimes, elderly people don’t trust the devices to support them or are afraid they will grow too dependent on them and not be able to move around on their own. Some aging adults even refuse to leave their room or their home rather than use a walking aide in public. So many elderly people have a negative association with a mobility aide, even though they are helpful and give them much needed stability.
How Family Caregivers Can Persuade Seniors About Mobility Aids
Family caregivers that want to encourage their elderly relatives to use a wheelchair, walker, cane or walking stick need to understand where they are coming from. Family members must point out how much more independent the elderly person is with a walking device in hard. They can do more and go further when they use a mobility aid. Because growing older often means that elderly men and women are losing some of their independence, they may find this approach appealing.
Another point that family caregivers and senior care aides can make is that the injuries they can sustain from a slip and fall can be devastating. If their risk of falling is high, seniors should understand the risks of going around without support. With luck and determination, family members will convince their elderly relative to use walking devices when they need them.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2768139/