Home adaptation Health Dictionary

A slowly diminishing reaction of a sense organ to persistent or repetitive stimulation. For example, a persistent smell may after a while result in the nose failing to signal its presence; the pressure-sensitive nerve endings in the skin may become accustomed to the presence of clothes on the body; regular background noise may be screened out by the cochlear nerve that links ear and brain.... adaptation

A person or a service providing practical help in the home, such as household chores, to support an older person with disabilities to remain living in his/her own home.... home help

See “high dependency care facility”.... nursing home

Permanent fixtures or alterations to a home to help someone get about or manage better (distinguished from ‘aids’ or ‘equipment’, which are more portable).... adaptation (of residence)

A residence which offers housing and personal care services to a number of residents. Services (such as meals, supervision and transportation) are usually provided by the owner or manager. Usually 24-hour professional health care is not provided on site. See also “assisted living facility”.... adult care home / residential facility

See “adult care home”.... board and care home

A residential facility that provides accommodation and offers a range of care and support services. Care homes may provide a limited number of services to support low dependency or may provide a wide range of services to cater for the continuum from low to high dependency care. See “assisted living facility”; “high dependency care facility”.... care home

A house in which people have their own rooms but there are communal facilities. Staff may live in to offer support.... group home

Domicile of an individual.... home

See “community-based care”.... home and community-based services; home and community care programme

See “residential care”; “assisted living facility”; “high dependency care facility”.... home for the aged

A public or private organization that provides home health services supervised by a licensed health professional in a person’s home, either directly or through arrangements with other organizations.... home health agency (hha) / home health care agency

A person who, under the supervision of a home health or social service agency, assists an older, ill or disabled person with household chores, bathing, personal care and other daily living needs. See also “community-based service”.... home health aide

See “domiciliary care”.... home health care / home care

An organization offering advice and practical assistance to older people who need to repair, improve or adapt their homes.... home improvement agency

Equipment, such as hospital beds, wheelchairs and prosthetics, provided by an agency and used at home.... home medical equipment

Professional visits in the home.... home visits

Schemes providing nursing care, personal care or practical help for older people who have returned home after a stay in hospital.... home-from-hospital / hospital after-care schemes

Home-based specialist medical care used to shorten hospital stays or prevent hospital admission.... hospital-at-home scheme

A service provided in the home by a home health agency or a residential services agency. It may be provided by personal care attendants or home health aides hired privately and informally, or through staff agencies or registries.... in home health service

Care provided in geriatric centres and acute hospitals to older persons who are in need of limited medical care and who are awaiting nursing home placement.... interim nursing home care

Housing built to be adaptable to people’s changing needs, thus avoiding the need for expensive and disruptive adaptations.... lifetime home

(CRHT) (in psychiatry) a multidisciplinary team in psychiatric services specialized in the treatment of severely mentally ill patients in their home environment. An additional remit of CRHTs is to try and avoid acute hospital admissions.... crisis resolution and home treatment team

the changes that take place in the retina and pupil of the eye enabling vision in very dim light. Dark adaptation involves activation of the *rods – the cells of the retina that function best in dim light – and the reflex enlargement of the pupil (see pupillary reflex). Compare light adaptation.... dark adaptation

see community midwife.... home delivery

see domiciliary consultation.... home visit

reflex changes in the eye to enable vision either in normal light after being in darkness or in very bright light after being in normal light. The pupil contracts (see pupillary reflex) and the pigment in the *rods is bleached. Compare dark adaptation.... light adaptation