If your loved one refuses in-home care because they want to maintain independence, here’s what you can do:
1. Get feedback. Involve your loved one in the decision-making and ask their preferences. This may help them feel more comfortable with the outcome.
2. Suggest a trial. Allowing your loved one a trial run with a caregiver may help them to trust the person and situation more.
3. Highlight Independence. Explain to your loved one that home care will allow them to stay in their home independently for longer.
4. Watch your words. Avoid words like “home care” or “Nursing Assistant” for people who are having trouble accepting they need help. Instead suggest finding “someone to help clean up” or “someone to do the cooking.”
5. Recruit help. Sometimes it’s easier for someone to accept that they need help if the information is coming from an outsider. Enlist the help of a social worker or medical professional.
6. Focus on you. Frame the issue around your needs instead of your loved ones. Say, “I know you can take care of yourself. But it would make me feel better if there was somone to help you with chores.
To read more on this topic, go to Home Care: Helping Loved Ones Adapt.
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