Families

Residents of care homes often experience a decrease in autonomy and agency in meeting their own needs.  In many cases, they ask families to help them access products and services.  This is a new and difficult area for many families and it can be challenging for even the loving, accepting family member.

How we can help

We help Families by:

• Provide sexuality and sexual health advice for families
• Source and provide sexual aids and services that have met our quality standards for aged care
• Provide consultation and assistance in care planning for individual residents
• Provide links to other like-minded organisations and schemes such as LGBTIQ visitor’s programs

Case study

Max regularly visited his father who was a resident at an aged care facility for two years.  Over the last few months Max noticed that his father seemed restless and agitated, so he asked him what was wrong.  His father told him that he had been reminiscing on his past relationships and felt sad that it was all behind him.

Over the next few visits he continued this conversation, often recounting his past sexual adventures and finally asking Max for his help in sourcing sexually explicit magazines.  Max felt very uncomfortable about this change in his relationship with his father and asked the Care Manager for her advice.

The Care Manager put Max in touch with Dignity Australia Pty Ltd who was able to provide private consultation with Max’s father; supply him with his needs and assist with further care planning.  Both Max’s father’s mood and his relationship with Max returned to their previous happy level.

The Research Behind Us

Youell, J. (2010) Living with dementia: accounts of intimacy and relationship in older couples experience. Paper presented to: 3rd Qualitative Research on Mental Health Conference (QRMH3): The Disabled Self: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Stigma and Recovery, University of Nottingham, 25-27 August 2010.

Heath H.; (2002) Sexuality in later life.  In H Heath, I White (Eds) the challenge of sexuality in health care.  Oxford:  Blackwell Science

O’Keeffe, D.; (2015)  Aged care must make space for intimacy and sexual expression, conference hears, Australian Ageing Agenda