Question

3) How can homes be modified to support safety and comfort across the lifespan?

4) Describe how the film “Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter” illustrates the consequences of matching the demands of an environment to an older adult’s competence. How did the elderly woman’s affect and contentment change when she moved from the apartment to the long-term care facility?

Answer 1

How can homes be modified to support safety and comfort across the lifespan?

1. Educate home builders about the need for better requirements for accessibility within the living spaces.
2. Enlighten building product manufacturers, disability advocates, construction groups, and real estate groups to educate the need for better housing that focusses on safety.
3. Have emergency contact methods such as alarm bells or switches to alert loved ones in case of emergency.
4. Make sure that there is enough support handles along the restrooms, hallways, and bedrooms to walk unaided safely for the elderly.
5. Make water faucets, door knobs, and electrical appliances safe and easy to use by having better grip capabilities.
6. Ensure that there are even surfaces to walk or work on and easily accessible cupboards and shelves.
7. Ensure that the stairs are well designed to accommodate and make walking easy and safe for the elderly by designing them with less height and better support handles (handrails)
8. Make all areas wheelchair accessible including the spaces inside homes.

4) Describe how the film “Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter” illustrates the consequences of matching the demands of an environment to an older adult’s competence. How did the elderly woman’s affect and contentment change when she moved from the apartment to the long-term care facility?

'Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter' illustrates the need to match the demands of an older adult in many ways. Debora Hoffmann realizes over time that taking care of her Alzheimer's affected mother requires special care and attention round the clock, and special modifications to accommodate elderly requirements including washroom facilities and wheelchair accessible housing.

Over time Hoffmann learns that her mother losing her memory was another way of looking at life. It starts out to be difficult and even outright frustrating to handle her forgetfulness. Finally accepting the gravity of the illness makes her realize that her mother does need more specialized care that needs acceptance that her caregiving capabilities are inadequate. This leads her to handle the situation with more ease which results in both her and her mother to resign to the fate and lead life with ease. By the time Hoffmann send off her mother to the caregiving facility, they both turn to be better friends than their past.