You're saying his bedroom is on the first floor and he only goes upstairs for computer? If so, I'd go ahead and move his computer down for him.
Older individuals eventually need to accept that their autonomy is going away. They're mentally declining, they're already physically declined. They're not in a fit state to decide basic things like: how to prevent falls. While it may be your father's right to stay in his home stubbornly, I don't think it's ridiculous to ask him to minimize the potentially deadly fall risk of a staircase at 86.
Do family members really have the right to tell their own nuclear family: I am correct to risk my life, you are wrong for trying to keep me safe? I think if your nuclear family suggests such a slam dunk win, it's best to just accept it.
I heartily disagree that older folks automatically lose autonomy. They lose physical ability. They lose some mental agility, but they are not all in dementia. And they have every right to decide for themselves when they can or cannot handle living independently. If they want the pain and trouble to make it work, we are the ones who have to accept them.
I'd say yes, absolutely, family members have the right to risk their own lives. Have you ever driven too fast on an interstate? Climbed a mountain? Gone skiing, bungie jumping, skydiving, or even swimming? Then you have risked your life. You are proposing a huge double standard if you argue that youth are allowed to have risk in their life while the elderly do not.
Or just buy him a nice laptop (maybe a surface with a touch screen) so he can also use that. That way he doesn’t feel like he is being forced to change his setup.
Older individuals eventually need to accept that their autonomy is going away. They're mentally declining, they're already physically declined. They're not in a fit state to decide basic things like: how to prevent falls. While it may be your father's right to stay in his home stubbornly, I don't think it's ridiculous to ask him to minimize the potentially deadly fall risk of a staircase at 86.
Do family members really have the right to tell their own nuclear family: I am correct to risk my life, you are wrong for trying to keep me safe? I think if your nuclear family suggests such a slam dunk win, it's best to just accept it.