Elder Abuse And Neglect Of The Elderly

Elder abuse and neglect has been recognized as a growing problem in the United States, and this trend is likely to increase unless the appropriate steps are taken to mitigating abuse among the elderly. All states have reporting requirements for elder abuse and neglect. Education and providing the correct training for caregivers and healthcare workers in the proper care and treatment of our elder citizens. Healthcare workers, especially emergency medicine physicians and nurses, must take the lead in this industry. There must be organized programs in healthcare facilities to facilitate the training of medical workers. Studies show that the abusers appear to be family members and caretakers of the elderly. The goals for elder abuse is not to prevent but to mitigate and include enhancing the quality of life, preventing family breakdown, and keeping the elderly persons in their homes as long as possible, if that is their wish. As adults grow older they may become more physically frail, may not see or hear as well as they used to, and may develop cognitive problems such as dementia. As a result, they become increasingly vulnerable to abuse and neglect.

Elderly Abuse as a Social Issue

Elder abuse is a multifaceted and pervasive public health issue which includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse, financial exploitation and neglect (caregiver neglect and self-neglect). It is estimated that only a fraction of elder abuse cases actually comes to the attention of the adult protective services (APS) (Dong, Chen, 2013).

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2015) elder abuse is a significant public health problem. Each year, an estimated five million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological, or other for...

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...cial work student personal goals surrounding advocacy in making sure the goals are clear and specific, measurable, achievable, and are set within a realistic time-frame accompanied by objectives that are formulated at the beginning of any future advocacy work. Start creating an awareness by educating society on the social problems that are generating large numbers in statistics. Achieving the desired results by promoting effectively and unbiased enactment. Last but not least to mobilize resources to support the program of the key priority interventions. Finally, With the contributions of advocacy groups, including community volunteers, to cover all the areas within the community. Structuring these goals and objectives for the appropriate population in the role of advocacy, can lead to mitigating majority of the social problems that are occurring in society today.