Safe and Secure Environments

Safe and secure environments can improve the health and wellbeing of older adults while providing an opportunity to age in place and live independently safely and comfortably.

As the nurse, you'll identify risks to safe and secure environments and promote safety for older adults by addressing risks associated with fires, firearms transportation and heat and cold related injuries.

First, let's discuss fires which can cause burns and smoke inhalation injuries. For older adults, there are several factors that can increase the risk of injury during a fire including impaired mobility, sensory impairments, slower decision making or response time and certain preexisting health conditions.

Now, fires can be caused by factors that include inadequate home repairs or maintenance, use of space heaters and smoking materials like cigarettes.

For example, a fire can originate from a poorly maintained fireplace. A space heater placed next to flammable materials or from falling asleep while smoking in bed.

As the nurse, you'll promote fire safety by ensuring your patient has well maintained smoke alarms in every room. They should also have access to a fire extinguisher and know how to use it.

If your patient smokes, instruct them to avoid smoking in bed or in a chair when there's a possibility of falling asleep to avoid smoking after taking medications that may cause drowsiness and to dispose of all cigarette butts in a nonflammable container away from other items.

Lastly, you can help your patient develop and practice a fire escape plan. Now, firearms are a significant cause of injury and death in older adults.

Gun ownership is typically higher in older adults when compared to other populations. At the same time, older adults experience a higher rate of altered mood, memory cognition and function.

These factors greatly increase the risk of unintentional firearm injuries which can occur from improper firearm care or handling and intentional firearm injuries and suicide.

Due to depression. As a nurse, you can use the five LS of firearm safety to evaluate your patient's gun safety practices, locked, loaded, little Children, feeling low and learned owner locked refers to whether a firearm is present in the home and if it's kept in a locked and secure place loaded, refers to whether the firearm is loaded with ammunition.

Little Children, refers to whether there are young Children in the home that could access the firearm and feeling low refers to the presence of mood changes like feeling depressed or having thoughts of self harm.

Lastly learned owner refers to whether the firearm owner has had formal firearm safety training. Based on your assessment.

You can promote firearm safety by providing information on proper firearm storage, like keeping the firearm unloaded in a locked cabinet or gun safe where young Children can't access it if your patient has signs or symptoms of a mood change.

Collaborate with the health care provider and social worker for referral for counseling services as indicated. All right.

Moving on to transportation safety, reliable, safe transportation is essential for the older adults ability to perform instrumental activities of daily living or I AD LS such as grocery shopping.

Whereas lack of accessible transport can lead to isolation, social withdrawal and even poor health outcomes. Some older adults may lose driving privileges due to factors that affect their ability to drive safely such as age related changes, like decreased night vision or slowing of reflexes or if they develop a condition like Alzheimer disease or stroke.

However, some may continue driving even if it's unsafe due to factors like lack of access to public transportation or lack of funds for ridesharing services.

As the nurse, you can facilitate safe and accessible transport for your patient. If your patient drives, encourage them to adapt their vehicle with safety features such as extended rear view mirrors, booster cushions for the driver's seat and easy to use GPS devices as needed.

You can also provide patients and their family with driving skills and safety, self evaluation information to help determine if driving cessation is necessary.

Since driving cessation can be a major loss, be sure to encourage your patient and their family members to have open discussions about any driving concerns and recommend a driving cessation support group as indicated if your patient doesn't drive, provide information on subsidized transportation services available in your patient's area like van transport for older adults and individuals with disabilities and offer information on local age related organizations which may offer resources or financial assistance for transportation.

Lastly, provide tips for maintaining safety while taking public transportation, like using handrails while boarding buses and keeping personal items secure.

Finally, let's discuss heat and cold related injuries. Older adults can be at an increased risk for these types of injuries due to an altered ability to sense temperature fluctuations and impaired thermoregulatory responses in high temperatures.

Hyperthermia may occur which is when body temperature increases above normal ranges due to heat gain and an inability to dispel heat.

This can be caused by environmental factors like lack of air conditioning, certain medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes, low intake of fluids or use of fluid depleting medications like diuretics.

On the other hand, hypothermia occurs when body temperature decreases below normal ranges. This can be caused by environmental factors like lack of heating conditions that decrease heat production, like hypothyroidism or medications impacting thermoregulation such as vasodilators as the nurse, you'll provide strategies for maintaining thermoregulation to prevent heat and cold related injuries.

For those at risk for heat related injury, encourage them to minimize outdoor exertion on days. When the temperature is high, take tepid baths or showers and drink 2 to 3 L of cool water daily.

If your patient is at risk for cold related injury, recommend keeping their home ambient temperature at a comfortable level, wearing a hat or head covering whenever possible and drying wet hair.

Quickly following bathing for patients without access to air conditioning or heating. Recommend a referral to a social worker for assistance with cooling and heating services.

All right, it's a quick recap. Safe and secure environments can improve the health and wellbeing of older adults while providing an opportunity to age in place and live independently safely and comfortably.

As the nurse, you'll identify risks to safe and secure environments and promote safety for older adults by addressing risks associated with fires, firearms transportation and heat and cold related