Environmental Lighting in Nursing Homes
Abstract
The 2010 Census indicates that there are 40.3 million older adults in the United States, of which 1.3 million people sixty-five years and over are in nursing home facilities. More than one out of four older adults fall annually, and up to 27 percent of these falls are due to environmental hazards such as poor lighting. This study assesses the current lighting requirements used by agencies that regulate nursing homes and compares it to the “ANSI/IES RP-28—Lighting and the Visual Environment for Senior Living” industry guidelines. Seven states in the United States with the highest aging populations were selected for this evaluation. The results suggest that the federal and state lighting requirements are weak when it comes to providing a safe environment. Who is looking out for the safety and well-being of the elderly? Lighting is the single most important environmental factor that can positively affect the nursing home resident’s visual environment of seeing, safety, and health. Designers, architects, code and standards writers, safety inspectors, and long-term care facility managers need to adopt the nursing home resident safety culture and carefully consider the element of light when creating environment safety guidelines.