Maintaining a level of independence and involvement in activities of daily living for those in your care can be a challenge.
Using the Arjo Mobility Gallery™ assessment tool (figure 1) allows you to understand a person’s functional mobility, the level of assistance they require, the risk to the caregiver and the importance to stimulate their functional mobility[i].
Person centred care places the resident at the centre of all we do. This assessment tool helps to optimise the mobility of the resident, improve dignified care and reduces the risk of injury to both the resident and the caregiver.
Promoting mobility is the driving force behind Arjo’s Positive Eight™ philosophy, which visualises the potential positive domino effects arising from maintaining or improving a person’s mobility. We strive to empower care facilities with the right prerequisites to work according to the Positive Eight philosophy, ensuring the[ii].
- Application of the best practice care skills
- Use of the work environment to enable efficient care processes
- Provision of proper equipment to support patient mobility and reduce caregiver injury
When looking at specific hygiene tasks, needs differ significantly across care settings and need to encompass both physical and cognitive capabilities determined through individual assessment. Assisted hygiene solutions are designed to allow you to work in an ergonomically sound position, to reduce the risk of injury, whilst supporting a beneficial interaction with your resident. The Arjo Carendo® multipurpose hygiene chair facilitates an efficient hygiene and showering routine, while allowing a comfortable working posture for the caregiver throughout the process[iii]. The Carendo is designed to enable a single caregiver to perform the full hygiene routine, including dressing and undressing, toileting, showering and other hygiene tasks in a single transfer[iv].
Caregiver safety is paramount, and factors, which affect the risk of musculoskeletal injury, should be considered, such as[v]:
- The number, type and functional mobility levels of residents being transferred or participating in hygiene routines
- The inadequacy (or absence) of suitable equipment
- Restricted spaces
- Lack of education and training for care skills
To mitigate these risks, evidence has demonstrated that education alone is insufficient. Use of the right equipment improves caregiver safety and reduces injury-related costs for the organisation[vi].
Understanding functional mobility, combined with selection of appropriate equipment to support your resident and caregiver can assist in addressing this challenge.
