The Perceived Needs of Bedridden and Home-bound Patients Who Live Alone and Identification of Quality of Safety and Health Conditions
Purpose
There are numerous geriatric patients who either live alone or live with spouses who can offer very limited or no help. In cases where such patients are bedridden it is often difficult for them to access the kind of care required both as a result of their age and their condition and hence have unique needs and require specialized care to enhance their morbidity. Lack of needs awareness for such patients greatly affect the morbidity of the patients and the lack of specialized care may even be fatal. This research will seek to identify the needs of bedridden geriatric patients who either live alone or live with people who can offer very limited care.
Literature review
According to the Administration on Aging, 12 % of adults over 65 years old requires assistance regarding care and help in performing routine tasks (Walker & Lead, 2011). Further, a huge population of this people either live alone or with equally elderly spouses. Such statistics necessitates that adequate care measures be accorded bedridden geriatrics in order to enhance their morbidity. Naik et al (2010), posited a multidimensional approach for assessing the vulnerability of adults living alone. This approached can be enhanced to equally assess the vulnerability inherent in bedridden geriatrics who live alone or with spouses who can only offer limited care. For instance, the patient and spouses’ vulnerability can be measured based on their cognitive ability, available social support, and the presence of cognitive or psychiatric condition that may predispose them to harm (Naik et al., 2010).
