As
one of six adult children, my siblings and I recently had to
make a hard decision, to relocate our Father to an elder residence .
As a retired Sergeant Major of the USMC, our 91 yo Father was the one who ran
everything. Suddenly, we were faced with making the decisions; decisions we
believed would provide closer monitoring and increased safety.
Through this process, we became very familiar with the reality of the
relocation stress syndrome.
RELOCATION
STRESS SYNDROME (RSS)
If
you have ever moved (as we did often in our youth, as military
dependents); you may remember the stress of the unknown and the many
challenges a move presented. That stress becomes exaggerated when an elder has to leave behind, not only their home, many f their belongings, but all that is normal to them. In
recent years, there has been increasing interest in the relocation
stress syndrome (RSS), also known as transfer trauma.
RSS
is recognized as a nursing diagnosis characterized by a combination
of physiologic and psychologic disturbances occurring as a result of
transferring a person from one environment to another. Symptoms of
relocation stress syndrome include:
- exhaustion
- sleep disturbances
- anxiety
- grief and loss
- depression
- disorientation
With
some elders, these symptoms are exacerbated by dementia, mild
cognitive impairment, poor physical health, frailty, lack of a
support system, and sensory impairment. For these elders, the
resulting confusion, depression and agitation have led to increased
falls, undesirable weight loss and self-care deficits.
Studies
have shown RSS can be minimized if we:
- Involve them in the decision and planning process
- Provide an opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns.
- Honor an individual’s preferences and allowing them to maintain control.
- Safeguard their possessions
- Involve them in setting up the new room or apartment
- Make the new home resemble (as much as possible) the old home
- Helping them become acclimated
