Assistive devices and home care help seniors with disabilities live independently at home
Disability is a fact of life for seniors. About 40% of seniors in Canada have one or more disabilities.
They need assistive devices and home care to remain living independent in their homes. In the second of a four part series we explore what assistance is needed to keep seniors with disabilities in their homes.
Seniors are not frail people who live in senior’s homes. You can be a senior at age 60 or 65 with lots of ambition, energy and twenty or thirty more productive years to live.
Assistive devices
People with disabilities need specialized equipment called assistive devices to “carry out their daily activities, for example by facilitating movement (wheelchairs, hand and arm supports) or helping them hear, see or communicate (aural prostheses, reading materials in Braille, communication keyboards)” (PALS 2006 Profile of assistive technology).
Someone with an agility disability may need grasping tools. Canes and walkers help those with walking disabilities. Wheelchairs and walkers are common assistive devices.
Unmet needs
Across Canada, 372,000 seniors with disabilities had unmet needs for assistive devices. Somehow, those seniors were struggling through their daily lives with the daily battle against disability.
The good news is that only 1,630 of PEI’s seniors with disabilities have unmet needs. That is a lot of seniors but not an insurmountable number to assist.
Ontario has the highest number of seniors with unmet needs for assistive devices 152, 000 followed by Quebec with 71,000 seniors, and British Columbia with 57,000 seniors with disabilities. Alberta has 31,000 seniors with unmet needs. The rest of the provinces are surprisingly high for their population: Nova Scotia with 14,000, New Brunswick with 10,000, Manitoba and Saskatchewan both with 13,000. (PALS 2006 Part II unmet needs).
In the PALS 2006 survey, seniors were asked what assistive devices they were using. They also asked why they didn’t have the equipment they needed. This is called “unmet needs.”
Cost was the biggest reason people didn’t have a wheelchair, walker or other assistive device. On PEI 63% of people who didn’t have their assistive devices cited cost as the reason.
Unmet needs on PEI
PEI’s seniors with disabilities with no needs met was 6.9% and 26.9% for some needs met, which is the lowest in the country. PEI has a high percentage of assistive devices funded by family.
| Need for assistive technology for PEI adults | |||||||||||||
| Disability | No needs met | Some needs met | Total unmet needs | ||||||||||
| Mobility or Walking | 600 | 500 | E | 1,100 | |||||||||
| Dexterity | 410 | 410 | |||||||||||
| Seeing | 200 | E | 140 | E | 340 | ||||||||
| Hearing | 550 | 880 | 1,430 | ||||||||||
| Pain | 810 | 390 | E | 1,200 | |||||||||
| Learning | 200 | 200 | |||||||||||
| Other | 710 | 710 | |||||||||||
| E – use with caution | |||||||||||||
| Source: PALS 2006 Part II unmet needs table 5 | |||||||||||||
| Seniors on PEI who need assistive devices | ||||||||
| Some needs met | 1,180 | |||||||
| No needs met | 450 | E | ||||||
| Total Island seniors | 1,630 | |||||||
| E – use with caution | ||||||||
| Source: PALS 2006 Part II unmet needs table 5 | ||||||||
Help with everyday activities
A senior’s story
Anne is a senior living with post polio syndrome, which leaves her weak, unable to walk and fatigued. She uses an electric wheelchair and lift, both of which she purchased with her limited savings. Her arms and muscles won’t let her do housework or other chores like folding laundry. She is struggling to stay in her own apartment and out of institutional care. Since she didn’t qualify for DSP, she assumed she would not get any assistance with homecare. She called PEI Home Care and the person said they could help her bathe which didn’t seem like the help she needed.
Along with assistive devices, people with disabilities need help with their everyday activities if they are to remain in their homes. These tasks include a basket considered home care: meal preparation, everyday housework, heavy household chores, appointments, personal finances, specialized nursing care, and moving around the home.
On PEI, home care is available under the PEI Disability Support Program for those under 65. Seniors have access to the PEI Home Care Program which provides specialized assistance for seniors.
Despite both programs, there are a more than 5,600 Islanders with disabilities who need some or more assistance with daily activities. The statistics don’t break out which age categories but there should be relatively few considering the existing programs.
Adults on PEI living with disabilities
Receiving some help but needing more 4,900
Not receiving help but needing some 770
Source Statistics Canada PALS 2006 Analytical Report Part VI table 3
The tables don’t break out seniors from all adults so we can’t be more specific about how many seniors need assistance with daily living.
Next How many seniors live with disabilities
Statistics bases on Statistics Canada Participation and Activity Limitation Surveys 2001 and 2006
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