Americans struggle with disability, with as many as 30 million people in the United States receiving some kind of disability check from the government. Although there are many kinds of disability in the United States, the one that is the most prevalent affects the elderly population in America: limited mobility.
Limited mobility can be defined as limitations of a person’s body in terms of getting around. This can mean walking, picking up things, turning, and generally moving from place to place. This is the number one leading cause of disability and as said before seems to affect the elderly population more than others.
Limited mobility can lead to damaging consequences. Limited mobility can lead to falls, which can be devastating on an elderly person’s health and the emotional stress levels of family members. Often, an elderly person has to be taken to the hospital when a fall occurs. Bones break and things rupture inside a body. The elderly person has to be taken care of.
There are many statistics about falls that will be covered in the next section. Those statistics look at the place where the most falls occur, how many people are hospitalized in falls every year, and how often falls occur. Because it is a serious issue, statistics have been kept on it.
- Approximately 53 million Americans live with a disability, and according to a recent study, the most common disability is associated with limited mobility.
- Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall.
- Among older adults, over 50% of all falls take place at home.
- Every year, over two million senior citizens visit the emergency room for injuries caused by a fall.
- Each year, nearly 235,000 people experience injuries in the bathroom, according to the CDC.
Falls can take place in many areas for the elderly but one of the areas where falls take place the most is in the home. The elderly have a tendency to fall in homes, which makes the use of assistive devices in the home that much more useful in terms of preventing these falls.
Approximately 6.8 million Americans use assistive devices to aid their mobility. These include the electric wheelchair, the medical lift chair, the mobility scooter, the outdoor stair lift, mobility ramps, the Harmar stair lift, the fitted stairlift, the electric wheelchair lifts, the lift chair recliner, and more.
These items are useful in terms of helping an elderly person get around the house or outside the house. Some of these items enable an elderly person to move quicker, such as the electric scooter, while some help an elderly person get to the next floor of a building, such as the outdoor stair lift.
These products may or may not rely on leading-edge technology but many of them do and they can be helpful to help the elderly get around and help with their limited mobility. Leading-edge technology can account for many things. Typically, leading-edge technology means technology that is current. Leading-edge technology is helpful.
Many families are going a step further to help with their elderly family member’s mobility and to prevent falls. The following statistics show that some families are considering remodeling or adding additions to their bathrooms, which is where most falls take place. They are also think about adding specific additions, like wheelchair ramps.
- According to AARP and the National Conference of State Legislatures, 90% of people over the age of 65 want to live in their home as long as they can.
- According to HomeAdvisor’s 2016 Aging in Place Report, 48% of homeowners over age 55 say the bathroom is the top area in the home that they have considered modifying for aging in place.
- According to HomeAdvisor’s 2016 Aging in Place Report, home service professionals say the top aging-in-place projects they?ve been hired to do include installing grab bars (71%) and adding entryway wheelchair ramps (54%).
There are many terms that are associated with different kinds of assistive devices and equipment. They include the medical lift recliners, the modular wheelchair ramp, the outdoor handicap ramps, the outdoor wheelchair lifts, the lift sling for elderly, the lifts for power wheelchairs, the full mobility, and more.
With limited mobility the leading cause of disability in the United States, assitive devices are useful for alleviating the problem.
