Elder Abuse: Six Types of Elder Abuse

Elder Abuse

Introduction

Mr. White, an 81-year-old widower who suffers from a stroke, lives with the only family left for him, his stepsister and her daughter. The two have been taking care of him by driving Mr. White to his appointments and to the bank for money to help pay the bills. Due to his deteriorating health and gratitude to his stepsister, he trusted his stepsister with great soul to manage all of his finances. Mr. White is so blinded by their hypocrisy that he did not know that the two were gamblers. That day onwards they have been secretly spending his money for their personal interests. Their interest in Mr. White also dwindled as he is often left without food while the two are busy playing it the casino. After losing large sums of money, they would burst their emotions by pinching him and screaming at him saying he is useless and a burden. Mr. White has lost 30 lbs. in 3 months and locks himself in his room whenever the two are around. Mr. White is experiencing a usually hidden and underreported problem called the elder abuse. Elder abuse, according to World Health Organization (para.1), (as cited in Daly & Schoenfelder, 2011, p.11) is “a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person”. Research estimates that as many as 700,000 to 1.2 million adults older than 65 years of age suffer from elder abuse (Taylor C., Lillis C., LeMone P., Lynn P, 2011, p. 426). This is far less from the accurate number of incidents because only 1 in 10 cases is reported. (Taylor et. al., p. 426). Elder abuse is indeed more prevalent that we think it is. Hence, th...

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...2), 4-5.

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National Center on Elder Abuse. (2011). Major types of elder abuse. Retrieved from http:// www. ncea.aoa.gov.NCEAroot/Main_site/FAQ/Basics/Types_Of_Abuse.aspx.

National Center on Elder Abuse. (2007). Major types of elder abuse. Retrieved from http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/FAQ/Basics/Type_Of_Abuse.aspx.

Taylor, C.R., LeMone, P., Lillis, C., & Lynn, P. (2012). Fundamentals of nursing: The art and science of nursing care. (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Ageing and life course: Elder abuse. Retrieved from http:// www.who.int/ageing/projects/elder_abuse/en/index.html.