Personal Care Vs. In-Home Care: Which Is Better For Senior Patients?

As loved ones advance in age, it may become challenging to take care of them. In most cases, the usual activities of daily living (ADLs) like bathing, toileting, mobility, and dressing may become difficult for them. Also, simple tasks that were once manageable, like home maintenance and cooking, may become hard for them to do. Additionally, in some instances, their health and cognitive abilities may decline too. 

When a time like this comes, it could be challenging for family members to decide on the best care option for their aging loved ones. Today, there are several choices to pick from and even more agencies that offer care and support services for the elderly. 

Difference Between Personal Care And In-Home Care For Elderly Patients

Care for older adults may depend on their needs. For instance, some seniors may have difficulties managing tasks like good hygiene or ADLs. Also, if they have medical conditions that need regular medical intake, they may have trouble remembering to take prescriptions. In this case, personal care may be considered. 

In contrast, you as a family member may opt to move your loved one into your house. However, even though you’d like to offer support for them, they may need specialized care if they have health issues. Also, you may have various tasks of your own that you’d like taken care of. In this case, no matter how much attention you’d like to provide your loved one, you may need some help. This is when you could employ the services of an in-home caregiver.

Choosing Between In-Home And Personal Care For Senior Patients

Choosing between personal and in-home care may be challenging. Therefore, if you’re conflicted on what kind of support is best for your loved one, it’s recommendable to seek advice from an expert. This may be a physician or a therapist for older adults. Depending on their counsel, you can easily choose a caregiver. 

To ensure the best care for your family member, you could consider the services of a credible support giver near you. Alternatively, you could look for professionals like OneSource or other providers online. If you’re still not convinced about either, you may try asking for referrals from friends.

If you’re considering either personal or in-home care for your loved one, you should evaluate each option carefully. Therefore, this article could be of great help to you. Read on to find out which may be the best choice to consider.

Personal Care For Elderly Patients

Personal care services (PCS) may be considered if it’s determined that the senior patient can live independently while receiving minimal assistance. Most agencies that specialize in support for the elderly may have various employees working for them. Each person is assigned to a patient depending on the older adult’s needs and the care provider’s expertise.

In most instances, care aides may help with mobility, companionship, housekeeping, hygiene, and companionship. However, if a senior citizen has health problems, the PCS company may assign a caregiver with medical expertise. Also, if the individual is living with a disability or has a cognitive condition that could negatively affect their well-being, the agency may allocate them a specialized aide. 

In PCS, there are two options you can choose from. You could consider a visiting caregiver who comes by the house at agreed times of the day to offer the support needed. Alternatively, you could choose a live-in professional. This individual will be at the senior’s home all through the day and night, providing all the assistance required.

If you’re considering PCS, below are some pros and cons which could help you decide better:

Pros Of Personal Care For Senior Patients  

If you choose PCS for a senior patient, there are various benefits regardless of the elderly’s current mental state or health condition. These advantages may include maximum independence, comfort, unlimited visitation hours from loved ones, and many others. 

Some of these merits are further explained below:

• It May Offer More Independence

The most significant advantage of personal care for senior patients is that the individual enjoys maximum independence. Usually, freedom in certain aspects of everyday living may concern most older adults living with various mental or health conditions. However, PCS guarantees this as one may be allowed total control as long as they don’t affect the patient’s well-being. 

This means that the elderly can still follow their preferred routines or schedule when it comes to socializing, eating, or sleeping. Caregivers, therefore, don’t limit these activities.  In addition, if the older adult can’t drive themselves to social activities, the carer may just take them there. However, with regards to medical care, the patient can only follow the support provider’s recommendations. This helps ensure that the elderly person is taking his or her medications regularly and is in good shape all the time. 

• Allows Unlimited Visits From Friends And Relatives

Some options like residential care may have a schedule for when friends and relatives can stop by to see their loved ones. On the contrary, PSC doesn’t limit visitation for senior citizens. This can be pretty helpful as it may help prevent loneliness for senior patients. Also, such interactions might be advantageous as they could help boost these individuals’ mental and overall well-being.

• Could Provide More Comfort

Most senior patients prefer staying in a comfortable and familiar place. PCS ensures this as the individual spends time in their own homes. This could provide maximum comfort to older adults, and even promotes better mental and health wellness. Also, it’s believed that personal care could be beneficial for people who have dementia or other progressive conditions that affect one’s memory. This is because familiar surroundings may offer more peace of mind and security to these individuals. 

As seen, PCS can be pretty beneficial to senior patients. Also, this kind of care can be advantageous to family members too. This is because PCS ensures the quality of life of their loved ones is improved as the person no longer struggles to carry out various everyday tasks. As a result, this could provide peace of mind to the family and relatives.

Cons Of PCS For Senior Patients 

Even though PCS may be advantageous to senior patients, there might be some disadvantages associated with it. Examples may be lack of trust, frequent change of carer, and high costs. 

Some of these disadvantages are further explained below:

• Lack Of Trust

Trusting a new person may be challenging for most senior patients. This could make them feel anxious and even unsafe. In such instances, it’s essential first to establish if the caregiver is trustworthy. You can do this by looking into their history or enquiring about their credibility from their employers and previous clients. 

• Frequent Change Of Caregivers

Most senior support agencies may frequently alternate their workers. Also, some care providers may change careers or move to other locations. In both instances, a patient then has to familiarize themselves with a new support provider. This can cause uneasiness and a lack of trust in most older citizens. 

In cases where the agency alternates workers at will, it may be possible to make sure your loved one remains with the same aide. To ensure this, consider asking the center about their policy on this matter before choosing them as care providers. If the option to stay with one professional is possible, ensure the firm explains all financial requirements to you to avoid any future inconveniences.

However, if the option to change a caregiver is not available, ask the new aide to visit the patient a day before his or her official starting date. This ensures that both parties get to know each other better before the caregiver starts working with the older adult. As a result, this may help reduce tension between the two.

• Affordability 

In several cases, PCS may be cheaper compared to other options such as residential care. However, in some instances, the senior patient may need more assistance with mobility. In such cases, they may require chairlifts, ramps, or railing, which can be pretty costly to install. 

As seen, PCS can be pretty advantageous to the elderly. However, there are also some disadvantages associated with it. Some of these demerits may have solutions. However, some factors may be hard to deal with, which could cause you to choose other options. 

In-Home Care For Senior Patients 

The best alternative for PCS may be in-home care. This kind of support also involves having the senior patient in familiar surroundings. However, in this case, a family member hosts their aged relative for better supervision and employs a professional to offer supporting care or medical assistance. 

While choosing this kind of support, there may be two options to consider. One is home health care, and the other is home-based care. The first one is provided by a licensed professional. This aid may be mainly advocated for senior patients who need help recovering from surgery, an injury, or a specific disease. Also, it may be recommendable for those requiring assistance to manage a particular illness. In most cases, this service is often prescribed by the patient’s physician. 

A home health care aide may offer speech and physical therapy, medical administration, and wound treatment. In addition, they may also help the patient with ADLs and educate both the host and the senior citizen on various issues concerning hygiene and other subjects.

On the other hand, home-based care aides help senior patients by offering companionship and assistance with ADLs, meal preparations, and housekeeping. Also, if the individual is living with a particular disability, the carer may provide specialized support. 

Additionally, if the senior citizen has a health condition requiring them to take medications regularly, the support provider may remind them to take their drugs. However, in contrast to home health care, a doctor doesn’t recommend this kind of assistance and the aide doesn’t necessarily have to be a licensed professional. 

Pros Of In-Home Care For Senior Patients 

All forms of in-home care for senior persons are similar in that the patient receives care in a familiar environment. Also, the individual is allowed utmost comfortability and guaranteed maximum safety as there’s more supervision. 

Some of the advantages of choosing this type of care include:

• It Could Help Strengthen Relationships

Moving into a care facility may sometimes negatively affect a senior patient’s relationship with loved ones. It’s because most of these centers may only offer a limited time to interact with friends or relatives. 

In contrast, living with family members means that the senior citizen enjoys unlimited time with loved ones. Also, friends may come by the house regularly to visit them without limitation. This, therefore, may help strengthen bonds with loved ones.

• Better Care And Support May Be Offered

Due to progression in age, an individual may experience reduced balance, hearing, and sight abilities. These factors could result in certain dangers such as falling and slipping which could lead to minor or fatal injuries. Also, some conditions like diabetes or dementia could require close observation to ensure better care and prevent severe accidents.

In-home care may be quite helpful for senior patients, as more people are looking after them. Usually, the relatives can offer supervision to avoid injuries or accidents if the caregiver isn’t around. Also, loved ones may provide additional support with ADLs for these patients or even help them take medication. This joint effort could ensure more safety for the senior patient and guarantee better care. As a result, this may help enhance the patient’s well-being.

• It Provides More Peace Of Mind For Loved Ones

Loved ones often worry when a family member can no longer take care of themselves. Also, the presence of a health condition that limits one’s welfare may be a concern for most relatives if the person is far from them. This may be so, even if the individual is receiving support from a caregiver. 

Housing the loved one and overseeing their care offers most family members some peace of mind. In this case, worries about their safety and their health condition may be reduced. 

As seen, in-home care for senior patients can be quite beneficial. However, this kind of support may require some skills for the host family. In most cases, the support provider may offer instructions on caring for the patient in case they’re away for a while. Nonetheless, if there are no specifications given, you could research through the web to find good tips. Alternatively, you can seek the advice of a physician to learn how to take better care of elderly loved ones.

Cons Of In-Home Care For Senior Patients 

While the advantages of in-home care may be numerous, there are also disadvantages to this type of support. For instance, the host must be ready to take on additional responsibilities. Also, the house may lack proper support equipment and privacy may be reduced for senior patients.

These disadvantages are explained further below:

• Increased Responsibility For Loved Ones

Even though taking in a loved one means spending more time with them, it also means more responsibility for the host. Often, this kind of support may require spending more money which could increase the regular house budget. Also, the relative may have to dedicate more time to the senior patient, which may cause them to forgo some important commitments. 

• Non-Accommodating Setting 

Most residential care facilities for the elderly may be designed with accessibility and safety equipment for senior patients. These include support bars, sufficient lighting, or seat-in showers. 

On the other hand, houses may lack such facilities due to high installation costs. This could be dangerous for most senior patients as injuries may be experienced if these individuals have mobility challenges or limited visibility.

• Reduced Privacy Or Independence

As much as older adults may enjoy more freedom and comfortability in home care, privacy may be limited. Compared to PCS, private space may be inadequate in this case as many individuals are under the same roof. Also, if the patient requires more help for ADLs, it could mean less independence. 

Despite the above disadvantages, several relatives may prefer in-home care for their aging loved ones. However, the decision on whether this is suitable for a senior patient may depend on certain factors. Some of these may be the host’s ability to offer care, the older adult’s requirements, and a physician’s recommendations.

Conclusion

Choosing between in-home and personal care for a loved one may be challenging. This article, therefore, provides some of the advantages and disadvantages of these two care types, which could help families decide the best option to take.

However, the option you ultimately choose may depend on the patient’s needs and your ability to offer additional care and support. Also, this decision may require further consultation with the elderly’s physician or counselor for a better evaluation between the two options.