Emerging Areas of Practice: Aging in Place and Home Modification

Occupational therapy has many emerging ares of practice that are a result of a changing world.  As medicine has evolved, people are living longer and many, as they age, are unable to stay in their home for a variety of reasons.  Reasons can include safety, unable to function in their home, or an inability to maintain their home.  Many people value staying in their home as they age and are looking for ways to do that.  Aging in place and home modification is an emerging area of practice in occupational therapy that addresses these things.  Occupational therapists work with clients to evaluate their homes and find ways to improve or modify the client's home so that living at home remains feasible.  Occupational therapists can also teach clients methods to reduce effort and increase safety around the home.  Aging in place centers on helping clients have a high quality of life and making modifications that allow them to do so.  I feel this is such an important area of practice as this is an area in healthcare that is overlooked and frankly, needs an overhaul.  My great-grandmother is 99 and my family has been, for several years, been trying to navigate assisted living and nursing homes.  I think that there are even better solutions for the aging population and I hope that areas of practice like aging in place can help redefine how and where the elderly age.