Home modifications
Most housing contains barriers that make remaining at home restrictive and even hazardous for older adults and persons with disabilities. Strategic changes to the home can support independent living and facilitate “aging in place”. Home modifications are adaptations to the physical environment that can range from low cost to expensive changes that include removing hazards (e.g., getting rid of throw rugs), moving furnishings (e.g., placing items on lower shelves), adding special features (e.g., grab bars, lever door handles), and renovations (e.g., installing a roll-in shower).
Benefits of Home Modifications
There are several benefits of home modifications. First, a supportive and accessible environment makes it easier to carry out tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Second, the addition of supportive features in the home may reduce accidents such as falls. Third, home modifications can minimize the need for more costly personal care services and delay institutionalization.
Despite its benefits, a study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University has found that a large number of older people who report problems with physical abilities live in housing without home modification features. Over five million older households have one member with a functional limitation. Of these households, 2.1 million express the need for home modifications to function independently, but only 1.14 million of these households have the modifications they need[1].
Barriers for Home Modifications
Why don’t more persons who need home modifications have them? Several interrelated factors contribute to the problem. First, older persons often adapt to their environment rather than change their settings to meet their needs. Even professionals such as doctors or case managers may overlook the role of the environment in supporting frail older persons and persons with disabilities. A second barrier is the unattractiveness of some products. Some individuals do not want their own homes to look institutional and may, therefore, only make adaptations after having an accident or a disabling condition that threatens their independence. Third, the service delivery system is a patchwork of providers (e.g., occupational therapists, remodelers), few of which are welltrained in assessing the environment or in specifying appropriate home modification solutions.[2] Fourth, because there is no entitlement program for home modifications, programs use a variety of sources, such as Community Development Block Grants, Older Americans Act Title III funds, and Medicaid waiver funds. Overall, home modification programs operate on relatively small budgets that generally restrict them to a specific geographic area. Fifth, some home modifications are costly and may be unaffordable to low and moderate-income individuals (e.g., roll-in shower, stair lift, ramp). Even though the expense of some adaptations can be a deterrent, home modification may be cost-effective in its ability to minimize health care costs and delay institutionalization.
References
- ^ Joint Center for Housing Studies (2000). The State of the Nation’s Housing 1999. Boston, M.A.: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
- ^ Pynoos, J., Overton, J., Liebig, P., Calvert, E. (1997). The delivery of home modification and repair services. In J.Hyde and S. Lanspery (Eds), Housing Adaptations to Meet Changing Needs: Research, Policy, & Programs. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company.
External Links
 | This article has not been added to any content categories. Please help out by adding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles. |