Improving Seniors’ Quality of Life: A Guide

Being alive is not enough – there is more to life than just existing at any moment in time. Life is all about quality, which is especially true for older adults. Special and personalized care and attention need to be given to them to ensure that their quality of life is high as they age. This guide provides nursing home health care professionals with tips that can help them boost the quality of life of senior residents that they care for within the senior residence.

Research

Like many things in life, aging is an inevitability that all human beings and living creatures can’t escape. Many times, one can wish that “drinking from the fountain of youth wasn’t a myth.” Nevertheless, seniors shouldn’t be looked down upon just because they have aged and because they are more than likely to face health complications.

Their family members and loved ones should strive to conduct research on nursing home health care facilities, through carrying out searches on platforms such as Discover Directory, which is a senior living directory. This can provide suitable options that are geared towards improving the quality of life of seniors in society.

Treat and Monitor Depression

This should not come as a surprise to you as a nursing professional.

Nonetheless, you will be surprised to know that the majority of seniors above the age of 65 years suffer from depression.

Some of the major triggers for depression at this age may arise from their inability to stay in their own homes, retiring from active employment or entrepreneurship, or losing their significant other.

There are also medical depression triggers that develop as a result of ailing from a disease or a complicated medical condition.

Nurses working in a senior health care facility should stay vigilant and monitor their patients to make certain that any early signs of depression are spotted, and promptly treated.

Reaffirm to Seniors That They Are Needed

Irrespective of age, everyone in society loves to know that they are loved and needed.

Otherwise, they can start developing self-doubt. Nurses working in senior living residents should endeavor to make their residents feel useful.

One way of achieving this is for asking your senior patients for help with tasks such as:

  • Folding and organizing laundry
  • Preparing dinner, for instance by chopping and trimming vegetables
  • Opening received mail

Encourage Senior Living Residents to Participate in Physical Activity

As a health care professional working in a nursing home, you should ensure that you are motivating your patients to participate in physical activities on a daily basis.

Since you will be tending to aged loved ones, make certain that the physical activities are not highly intensive.

The goal is to make seniors stimulate blood flow in their bodies and help them alleviate their stress levels.

About the author

Anand Narayanaswamy

Anand is a seasoned journalist with over 15 years of experience in technology reporting. He holds a Master's degree in Computer Science and has worked with several leading tech publications. Anand oversees the editorial direction of The Hoops News, ensuring that the content meets the highest standards of journalism. In his free time, he enjoys reading about quantum computing and playing chess.