Though elderly abuse occurs in many nursing homes, it is preventable. It is the nursing aide 's responsibility to provide quality and comfortable care, free from abuse. Many people are not aware that there are several other types of abuse in addition to physical abuse and many are not aware of the signs. If abuse should occur, anyone who suspects or witnesses the abuse is responsible for reporting it. Knowing the types of abuse, being aware of the signs, and reporting incidents are all ways to prevent abuse in nursing homes. Physical abuse is the non-accidental abusive force disposed from the health care provider to the resident. According to Christopher Dubble, the misuse of restraints is also considered physical abuse. Restraints are only …show more content…
This type of abuse can be either unintentional or intentional (Dubble 39). Neglect is considered unintentional when the caregiver does not have the adequate knowledge to care for the resident. For example, bathing a patient in 115 degrees Fahrenheit water and not knowing that the water should not be warmer than 105 degrees Fahrenheit is considered unintentional neglect. Neglect becomes intentional when the caregiver knowingly does not provide quality care. A resident developing bedsores from not being turned every two hours, residents’ diets being ignored, and residents being left in feces are all examples of intentional neglect (Reed 189). Numerous distinctive signs will indicate neglect. Often, neglect is characterized by unusual weight loss, bedsores, and clothing unsuitable for weather conditions. The main sign that will indicate a red flag is when the resident is left dirty and unbathed. The resident’s living conditions may also be unsafe or unsanitary (Robinson Saisan …show more content…
To prevent elder abuse, Robinson, Saisan, and Segal recommend practicing stress reduction strategies when the aide begins to feel overwhelmed. Joining a support group is also suggested so support can be gained from people in the same situation. It is important for the overwhelmed healthcare provider to realize that there are others going through the same situation. Nerenberg suggest that employee screenings should be improved by include background checks and police reports (28). Also, it is necessary for there to be a feasible workload to ensure that the nursing aide can provide quality care for the residents. If the workload is not manageable, the aide will likely be forced to spend less time with each resident causing the care to not be sufficient or of great
Assisted Living Facilities abuse is a frequently occurring problem in our society (Hamilton). There are diverse categories of abuse that transpire in Assisted Living Facilities which are physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, abandonment, and financial abuse. Samples of physical abuse would be hitting or beating the elders with an object or their hand, force feeding them or pulling their hands. Sexual abuse is the Assisted Living Facility employees having sexual acts with non-consenting patients. Emotional abuse is the employees saying things verbally to torment the patient. Neglect would be the employee does not take care of the patients such as providing hygiene. Abandonment occurs when leaving patients to fend for themselves. Financial abuse is when the patient’s family pays for the services that were not taken care of. “Elder abuse is fast becoming one of the uppermost law enforcement tasks of the next century, “said Paul Hodge who investigates crime against the elderly (Gonzalez). Since abuse occurs throughout assisted living facilities, state and federal governments should establish a type of punishment such as sending for employees to prison, ways to prevent abusing elderly’s is by inspecting employees ' criminal records, qualified staff, reporting injuries, having surveillance of the areas that do not affect patients privacy, promoting continuous family visits, and shortage of staffing.
Physical abuse takes many forms including hitting, punching, pulling hair, slapping, grabbing, biting, kicking, breaking bones, bruising, burning, twisting arms, throwing victims against walls and furniture, throwing objects and using weapons. It also includes damaging household goods, killing pets, and denial of human needs, like sleep and nutrition. Assault can be of a life-threatening nature resulting in broken bones, miscarriages and other serious injuries. A substantial proportion of victims are threatened or assaulted with weapons such as knives,
In the medical field, the workers are highly trained to be able to make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong. Elder abuse is becoming a serious issue in the health environment. As defined in the website, MedicineNet.com, elder abuse is: “the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of an elderly person, usually one who is disabled or frail”. The older population consists of people over sixty-five years old. They are very fragile and sometimes they are forgotten or abused. The elderly can be victims of mistreatment in nursing homes, hospitals, or even in their own house. Nursing is the act of promoting health for others, and of providing care and security with the skills nurses have acquired. However, those who are nursing can also harm, or hurt people by advising them. Elder abuse can take many forms such as financial abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.
Physical abuse is recognised as a person making contact with their victim, causing pain or
Nursing Home Abuse With over 1.5 million elderly and dependent adults now living in nursing homes throughout the country, abuse and neglect has become a widespread problem. Even though some nursing homes provide good care, many are subjecting helpless residents to needless suffering and death. Most residents in nursing homes are dependent on the staff for most or all their needs such as food, water, medicine, toileting, grooming- almost all their daily care. Unfortunately, many residents in nursing homes today are starved, dehydrated, over-medicated, and suffer painful pressure sores. They are often isolated, ignored, and deprived of social contact and stimulation.
Of nursing home staff interviewed in 2004, nearly 40% admitted to committing at least one psychologically abusive act toward a resident and 10% admitted to physically abusing a resident in the preceding year.[1] Not only are nursing home residents at risk of being abused by their caretakers but they are also at risk of being restrained, which may lead to a form of abuse. With five percent of the elderly population, or one to two million instances of elder abuse occurring yearly there is no doubt that elder abuse deserves serious consideration.[2]
When neglect happens to children it can be life altering. Each case of neglect is different depending on the person. For the Walls’ children neglect happened every day. Online at dictionary.com, neglect means to pay no attention or too little; disregard or slight. In her memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls’ and her siblings were neglected by Rosemary and Rex Walls emotionally, medically and physically. No matter what kind of abuse one may be experiencing they all have lasting effects and have affected people of many different backgrounds.
Nurses continually strive to bring holistic, efficient, and safe care to their patients. However, if the safety and well-being of the nurses are threatened or compromised, it is difficult for nurses to work effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the position of the American Nurses Association (ANA) advocate that every nursing professional have the right to work in a healthy work environment free of abusive behavior such as bullying, hostility, lateral abuse and violence, sexual harassment, intimidation, abuse of authority and position and reprisal for speaking out against abuses (American Nurses Association, 2012).
Physical abuse is any non-accidental physical injury to a child. Physical abuse is an injury that results from physical aggression. Types of physical abuse can consist of beating, whipping, hitting, pinching, biting, or spanking.
“Physical abuse is any intentional and unwanted contact with you or something close to your body. Sometimes abusive behavior does not cause pain or even leave a bruise, but it’s still unhealthy” (e.g., “types of abuse,” n.d., para. 1).
Unlike physical or sexual abuse, in which specific abusive acts are directed towards a child, neglect is typically defined by the absence of provision for a child’s basic needs (Gough, 2005).
Child abuse is a very serious problem that nurses may encounter over the duration of their careers, it is important to understand the signs of child abuse, and be able to recognize it. There are various different kinds of child abuse that may be observed, it is important to remember that all forms of abuse are damaging, and serious and should be treated appropriately (Caneira, & Myrick, 2015). Many challenges are associated with child abuse and this may affect the role of the nurse when providing care to these families. The purpose of this paper is to explore what child abuse is, the role of the nurse in abusive families, and how the nurse can be involved in some of its challenges.
Neglect; defined as failing or refusing to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, emotional nurturing, or health care. (Aamondt, 2005)
In 2012 in the United States over 2,000 children died, around 70% of the children where because of neglect, if a child survived being neglected they most likely experience psychological or mental issues. Like I said there are many forms of neglect such as: physical neglect, educational neglect, psychological or emotional, or medical neglect. Physical neglect includes abandonment, shuttling, expulsion, nutritional neglect, clothing neglect, and there are few others. There are so many different types of neglect that if a parent is neglecting it would be able to be found (Projectsakinah.org) . If anybody sees it or notices it they are supposed to report it, such as teachers or instructors if a teacher or instructor notices a student has been neglected or has signs of neglect or abuse than they must report it, they can not just go and talk to the parents or talk to the student about it, they sign a contract at the beginning of the year that says they will report
Secondly, physical abuse is purposely causing physical harm or injuries to a child. Being physically abused includes being hit, kicked, or shaken. Parents who are abusive to their children often claim that their abuse is a form of discipline. There is a significant difference in abusing your child and trying to show them discipline. The whole point of using discipline is to show a child right from wrong. It becomes physical abuse instead of discipline when your...