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How to prevent elder abuse essay
Elder abuse in our society
Elder abuse in our society
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Did you know that, according to the National Institute of Justice website, “There are few reliable national measures of elder abuse. This is partially because there is no uniform reporting system for elder abuse in the U.S.” ("Extent of Elder Abuse Victimization," 2015). It is sad that, in a country as developed as ours, we have no standard way of reporting elder abuse.
Everyone has an aging relative or knows an elderly citizen in their community that they care about. Now imagine, if you found out that this person was being abused, you would certainly want to know how to prevent or stop this abuse. That is what I will be talking about today: what elder abuse is? and how to spot the signs of abuse, prevent it, and educate others.
As you can see, I am not elderly and I have not experienced elder abuse personally, but I am a concerned American. The aging
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slapping, bruising, or restraining by physical or chemical means” (What is Elder Abuse? , 2016). No one deserves to be abused no matter the age. We need to love and protect the elderly around us. Not just for the sake of the elderly, but also because we are doing what God values, which is love others.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services: National Center on Elder Abuse, mental or psychological abuse can be anything from intimidation, harassment, and even verbal abuse ("Types of Abuse," 2016). This is sad, to think, that there are elderly that are being harassed and verbally abused by those trusted to care for them. Proverbs 16:24 (NIV) says ,”Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones”. This is how we should be treating our elderly with kind words, and compassion this is what God would desire us to do.
So how can we spot, educate, and prevent elderly abuse? I am so glad you
In the first section of the article the authors discuss the definition of elder abuse. The authors began with the most common types of elder abuse which are physical and neglect. Elder
Currently, there are many children whom suffer from emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in their family. Emotional abuse is the lack of interest or affection parents have towards their children. As a result of emotional abuse, children are left feeling worthless and unloved. Physical abuse refers to attacking children resulting visible bodily injuries from either being burned, pushed, punched, slapped, or whipped. Sometimes physical abuse can be extremely severe that children have broken bones, fractures, or hemorrhaging. Sexual abuse occurs when a person forces, tricks, or threatens children to have sexual contact. These acts of child abuse could prevent children from living a normal adulthood. In order to deal with such a traumatic childhood, adults abused as children should rid themselves of such burdensome, painful memories.
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.
With respect to older women, the issue is that there is a serious lack in differentiating between elder abuse and domestic violence. The discrepancy causes confusion as to what agency to report either volunteered or mandated cases of abuse (Kilbane & Spira, 2010). Furthermore, it is because of reporting errors that victims of abuse may not receive the services that are congruent to the type of abuse (Kilbane & Spira, 2010) indicating, “…a lack of centralized reporting of cases….” (Kilbane & Spira, 2010, p. 165).
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.
Now, you can see that Nursing Home abuse is a big problem in America. You might want to get involved in our local program against nursing home abuse. I will leave you with one last statistic, 1 out of every 8 nursing home patients are abused in some way. Wouldn’t you like to help them?
Elder abuse is a very sad reality. With an understanding of what the term elder abuse encompasses, who is at risk, what the warning signs are, the statutes that are there to protect the elderly, who is mandated to report the abuse, and how to report the abuse, it is important to minimize the crime. As with all things, the most important way to prevent something from happening is to educate, and elder abuse is no different. If care takers had education about the numerous resources there are, such as support groups and counseling, elder abuse could possibly be decreased exponentially.
Rodríguez, M. A., Wallace, S. P., Woolf, N. H., & Mangione, C. M. (2006). Mandatory reporting of elder abuse: Between a rock and a hard place. Annals of Family Medicine, 4(5), 403-409. doi:10.1370/afm.575
This essay will start by explaining what is elder abuse and the different types of abuse and the kinds of patterns that exist. It will acknowledge the positions that elder people can be in that make them vulnerable in society and the dangers of these. It will also look at the report of protecting our future 2002 and looks at their responsibilities and how ways they help prevent elder abuse. Then in turn it will explain the policy developments since the publication of the protecting our future 2002 and recommendations that need to be implemented to ensure the prevention of elder abuse of the review 2009. It also will state some of the actions following the report and how efficient that is on how to prevent elder abuse.
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]
Kohl, H., Sanders, B., & Blumenthal, R. (2012). Elder Abuse: What is the Federal Role?. Generations, 36(3), 106110.
Elderly adults face an abundant amount of abuse in many healthcare settings. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), elder abuse is defined as, “intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or “trusted” individual that lead to, or may lead to, harm of a vulnerable elder” (NCEA, 2017, p. 2). Elder abuse can possess many forms, including physical abuse, neglect, emotional or psychological abuse, financial abuse or exploitation, sexual abuse, and abandonment. (NCEA, 2017, p. 2). This abuse can take place in many settings that house seniors, age 65 years old and up regardless of age, sex, or race. These senior care facilities can include, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and/or senior day care
When an adult performs abusive behavior towards a child, they are doing it out of their own impulsiveness, personal frustration. Whether the child is provoking the parent by acting up and the parent beats them because they cannot control their own aggression, or the parent just had a bad day at work and take it out on a child physically for no reason at all. Any time a child is hit without the intention to correct a behavior or to teach discipline it is considered abuse. Spanking does have good intentions because it is to teach discipline with a positive outcome and is done so while the parent is calm and rational for the child to fully understand their wrong doing. The root word of discipline is disciplinare, which means to teach or instruct.
“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).