Running head: HOME EVALUATION REFLECTION

Home Evaluation Reflection

Brandon M Roberson
Touro University Nevada

Home Evaluation Reflection

Briefly describe the context of the home evaluation- where is it located, who lives there,
pertinent architecture i.e. stairs, landings, bathroom set-up.
The townhouse where the home evaluation was conducted is located in Henderson
Nevada. The house is occupied by two individuals, Ryan Hua and myself, Brandon Roberson.
Ryan and I have lived in this two-story house since May of this year. The house has three
bathrooms, one located on the main level, one in the upstairs hallway, and the last one in the
master bedroom. The bathroom located on the main floor is a half-bathroom and is easily
accessible. The bathroom in the upstairs hallway is a full-bathroom with his and her sinks as
well as a step in shower and bathtub. The bathroom in the master bedroom has a walk-in shower
with sliding doors to enter. The toilet is located in a separate small room only accessible once in
the bathroom. In order to get from the main level to upstairs, there are 16 stairs with a landing
between as well as hand rails going all the way up.
Briefly discuss your experiences and reflections after conducting the home assessment.
The first experience and thought I had while conducting this home assessment was how
little I actually knew about my house. Being completely honest, I tried to start this assignment
while not at home relying solely on my memory, and I was unable to. I could not recall anything
from the number of outlets in the kitchen, to the types of light in my closet. This home
assessment made me realize how I take certain things for granted and are unaware of my
surroundings. After beginning the home evaluation and answering the pre-fabricated questions, I
immediately found myself thinking of ways to modify the home if my mom or an older person
were living there. I quickly realized how unsafe aspects of the home really were, not only for me
but definitely for the older population. I also understood how client centered a home evaluation
actually needs to be. When going through and thinking about ways to conserve energy, improve
occupational performance and make the house safer, I realized that my idea of making tasks

Home Evaluation Reflection

simpler is extremely client dependent. I now have a better grasp on how vital it is to know as
much about the client as possible in order to better understand and modify their living
arrangement.
Discuss the findings of the home assessment and any pertinent recommendations (3-5
pertinent recommendations) that you would make if this were an actual client you were
working with.
I decided to do the home evaluation on myself because I wanted a better insight on unsafe
areas in my immediate life. What I determined was numerous unnecessary risks and hazards
increasing my likelihood of suffering an injury. One way that my room is dangerous is due to the
fact there is no light or light switch located near my bed. What that means is that in order to turn
off the lights and lay in bed requires me to walk across my room with the lights off. This results
in a higher probability that I may suffer a fall while trying to get in bed in the dark. My
recommendation to reduce that risk is to place a lamp or light near the bed. This will allow me to
turn off the main lights and still have light to safely walk to my bed; once in bed I could easily
turn off the lamp. I chose this recommendation instead of adding an additional switch because it
would not only be cheaper but easier as well. The next risk that I encountered was there was not
a rubber non-slip mat in my walk-in shower. This creates a large fall risk while in the shower,
and this risk could be dramatically reduced for less than $20 at stores such as Wal-Mart or
Target. The other main area of concern in my house arose when ambulating through the living
room. There are frequently shoes and backpacks left on the ground which creates a large
tripping hazard. This problem could be resolved by purchasing a bigger shoe rack. The shoe
rack is utilized and completely full, so by adding more room for shoes, or placing them in a nearby closet, it would reduce the clutter and decrease tripping hazards. These are the three areas

Home Evaluation Reflection

that I would focus on first in order to improve occupational performance and increase overall
safety in my house.
Discuss the clinical utility of the assessment and/or its relevance to occupational therapy
and occupation-based practice.
Having done a home evaluation during my observation hours, I was able to see early on
how important they really are. Before seeing my first home evaluation I assumed this safety
knowledge was common sense and seemed arbitrary, but I found out quickly how wrong I really
was. When I arrived at this first house the patient had throw rugs all down the hallway along
with phone cords crossing the hallway. The patient also had a rug in the kitchen, and we quickly
realized it was counterproductive because it made the kitchen area slippery. This showed me that
what I think is common knowledge is not and I should never assume that. This was also
reiterated when I did the home evaluation on my own home. I did not think about how unsafe
certain aspects were until asked to describe my living situation. Even as a second year
occupational therapy student I had managed to overlook key safety issues that were occurring in
my own home. This goes to show how important home evaluations are and how they are a key
aspect to occupational therapy and occupation-based practice. By going into the patients home
occupational therapists are able to see first-hand their living situation. By observing this the
occupational therapist is able to make client/occupation-based recommendations on how to make
their home safer. There is not a generic home assessment, because no two homes are alike,
meaning the recommendations for my home could not be applied to another home. Without
occupational therapists conducting home evaluations the client could be at increased risk upon
being discharged home. By completing these evaluations and looking at every home individually,
that risk is meant to be reduced. By reducing the risk of the client being injured (or reinjured)

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the occupational therapist is able to improve the clients quality of life while saving them
valuable time and money that does not have to be spent on rehabilitation.