What You Need to Know about Financial Planning

It can be a challenge for caregivers to communicate with health care professionals about the mobility challenges and safety of the person in their care. It’s important to be prepared to speak with health care professionals so that they can provide support by offering recommendations, strategies to try, referrals to other specialists, or other forms of assistance. The following are some helpful tips on how to communicate with health care professionals.

• Offer DetailThe more detail you can provide about a change in a person’s movement and abilities, the more a health provider can work out different strategies to help. Details like: when did this start, how long have they had difficulty, how much difficulty do they have, what have you tried so far, etc.
• Ask questions

If a fall has occurred, provide as many details as possible. What did the fall look like? When did it happen? Is there a pattern developing? Is there something in the house/outdoors that caused the fall? Beyond explaining who you are and your relationship to the person, offer details about your caregiving role and the support you provide.

Challenging the Myth about Safe Mobility

 The safest way to prevent falls is to restrict movement

A commonly held misbelief is that to prevent falls, a person should stop getting up. This can be detrimental to a person’s health and cause even more falls. Staying inactive for long periods of time can cause a person to quickly lose muscle and strength. The safest way to prevent falls is to stay as active as abilities allow and to participate in activities in the safest way possible

Activity 3.4

Test Yourself

Try this quick exercise to remind yourself of safety considerations when you are supporting a person to stay active. Which of the statements are true or false?

How do I find additional support for me and the person in my care?

Ask

Ask a qualified professional who can lead you in the right direction. They will be able to tell you and the person you care for about the services in your community and if they think a referral is needed.

Look online

Read

Watch a video

Pause and Reflect

Write down two or three strategies from this module that could be useful for you in your caregiving. Write these strategies down in your Reflection Journal.