In your own home

Occupational therapy practitioners bring an understanding of the importance of participation and occupation for overall well-being to senior care. They can fill a unique role by enhancing client-centered programming in patient own home  including:

• Evaluating patient needs and interests for specific health education programs, and then designing programs around these needs
• Developing educational programs to provide each participants who have a variety of conditions (e.g., vision and hearing impairments, mobility limitations) with fall prevention, energy conservation, and other compensatory techniques. Information can be delivered to individuals or groups about community mobility, environmental modifications (e.g., bathtub bench, grab bars), and assistive devices (e.g., one-handed cutting board for meal preparation, built-up eating utensils) to increase ease, safety, and independence with daily tasks
• Assisting patients with life transitions. Occupational therapy programming designed to help address role transitions and changes in routines associated with retirement, widowhood, caregiver role, and relocation can alleviate some of the anxiety associated with these changes. Opportunities for participants to recognize the commonalities in their experiences and to gain problem-solving abilities to handle these transitions are just some of the ways that occupational therapy practitioners might support individuals at home during these times.