For many of us as we grow old, assisted living facilities provide the care and support that we need to continue our lives with the support and dignity that we need. Assisted living provides what is needed to cover the basic needs of food, shelter, and support, but an additional function they provide is a social aspect. Isolation is an unfortunate inevitability for many elderly people who live on their own. However, assisted living facilities can provide a level of social interaction through community activities that can be of great benefit to one’s mental and physical health. We look at what assisted living facilities can offer to provide this often overlooked aspect of elderly care.
The Importance of Social Interaction
There are a plethora of benefits to social interaction, and these only become more important as we get older:
- Mental Health Benefits: Social interaction can help to reduce the risk of depression and anxiety. It can also provide a boost to cognitive function.
- Physical Benefits: Social situations can provide a greater encouragement for physical activity. Reduced blood pressure from lower anxiety levels can also be a benefit.
- Emotional well-being: Feelings of isolation and loneliness dissipate and a greater sense of purpose can be achieved.
Types of Activities
Assisted living facilities can offer a whole host of different activities. This ensures varied schedules for the residents and maximizes participation by having something that will appeal to everyone.
Recreational Activities
Arts and crafts sessions, card games, board games, and bingo are all good examples of recreational activities that provide opportunities for social interaction as well as an element of cognitive stimulation.
Physical Activities
It is important to offer a variety of physical activities that suit people’s differing physical abilities. Some examples of activities that could be offered are yoga, tai chi, walking clubs, and dance classes.
Educational Activities
Mental stimulation is an important factor in slowing cognitive decline, so offering intellectually stimulating activities is a must in assisted living facilities. Good examples of this include book clubs, guest talks, or workshops.
Social Events
Offering some purely social events is the best way to encourage social interaction and combat feelings of loneliness. Holidays offer a great chance to throw parties. Movie nights and themed events are also great options.
Challenges in Delivering Activities
The challenges in delivering these sorts of activities in assisted living facilities are twofold. Firstly, there is the challenge of resident participation. Activities must be appropriate to the abilities of the residents and strategies must be derived to encourage participation. A mix of activities to suit different abilities and interests is key.
Secondly, there is the consideration of resource allocation from the facility. It is important to plan activities that stick within allocated budgets. Also, staff time must be planned and scheduled, and the use of external staff for certain activities must be considered.
Future Trends
Embracing modern technological advances will be a key aspect of developing future assisted living activities. Utilizing virtual reality is one particularly interesting area as it can provide unique experiences for those with physical limitations.
Online social platforms offer further areas to explore. Interactions with family and friends who may not be able to visit, or even joint virtual activities with other assisted living facilities, could offer a new way for residents to interact.
Data analysis offers another potential avenue for improvement. Tracking the participation and feedback of residents for activities will mean insights can be gleaned on future activity planning. It also opens the door to personalized activity plans to suit individual residents.
Conclusion
Social and community activities play a key part in the offerings of assisted living facilities. These activities provide a multitude of benefits to residents’ mental, physical, and emotional health. Offering a variety of activities that provide differing types of stimulation and can be made accessible to all is an important consideration. Despite some challenges, the future of activities in assisted living facilities looks only set to improve. This is good, as this type of social interaction will play an ever more important role in our aging society.
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