Arranging for living space: Human beings are creatures who need their own space. Most of us growing up either had our own rooms or wished we did. That need does not go away as we age. Unfortunately, for residents, having their own space and privacy is difficult, and that is something aids can help with.
Nursing homes differ as to how much space residents can have. The luckier residents have their own rooms and are allowed to bring furniture from home, so that their rooms truly seem truly their own. If furniture can be brought from home, encourage residents and family members to bring things that will make the resident feel more comfortable and at home.
Other residents live in more crowded conditions in which they have to share one room with a roommate, but even in shared rooms residents can have their own space. A bed, bedside table, and small chest of drawers can be considered the resident’s own personal space. Residents and their families should be encouraged to bring pictures of family or pets to put on display to make the space the residents’ own.
Personal space: Another space that is important to each of us is the space which surrounds each of us, and which we consider ours. For most people this ends about eighteen inches from our bodies. Having others invade our personal space can cause anxiety and anger. Elderly people in poor health need to feel at peace. Anger and anxiety can be bad for their health. Of course, when caring for residents, you will often have to be closer than eighteen inches for bathing, helping with clothing changes, giving back rubs, measuring vital signs, feeding, toileting, and transporting. It is important to explain what you are going to do for residents before you perform a procedure, so that residents feel less anxious. Knowing why their space is being invaded will make them feel that they are being taken care of rather than violated.
Privacy: Privacy is important to everyone. We wear clothes to cover our nakedness and lock the doors when we enter a restroom. We speak in low voices when we are discussing something of a personal nature in public. For residents of nursing homes, having rooms with healthcare workers and visitors coming and going, and having procedures done by other people, privacy can be a problem.
Always draw the curtains around the patient’s bed when bathing the patient, changing his or her clothes, or giving a bedpan. When a nurse or doctor performs a procedure such as inserting a catheter or performing a medical examination, see that the curtain is closed. If your patient is wearing a hospital gown and wants to walk down the hall, give him or her a robe or another gown to wear in back.
Privacy also has to do with the patient’s information. Never discuss a patient while in an elevator or the cafeteria. Discussions should be confined to group conferences behind the nurses’ station. Patients should never be discussed with each other. Charts and medical records must be kept at the nurses’ station or the medication room. Never talk about patients outside the hospital or nursing home.
This is a collaborative project. As such, the content above is always being edited, improved and added to.
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