When discussing abuse and neglect we often think of children first. That being said, children are not the only ones who will be abused and/or neglected. In fact, this happens to some elderly as well. While some elderly may be productive enough to care for themselves, others are not. The end result is a complete (or close to complete) dependency on someone else for their needs. In addition, just like with children, this dependency can lead to abuse and/or neglect.
There has been an increase in the number of elderly that have been subjected to violence and mistreatment. This type of treatment is associated with the individual’s dependency on others; whether it be a relative, acquaintance and/or institution (Meadows, 2010). According to estimates “between 1 and 2 million Americans aged 65 years or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for case or protection (National Research Council Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of elder abuse and neglect, 2003)” (Meadows, 2010, p. 87). The type of abuse that elderly get subjected to is not only physical, it may also be emotional. Obviously, abuse may take on many different forms and may include: financial abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. This abuse is not limited to certain circumstances it can happen in poor, middle-class or upper income household. This includes a variety of demographs and ethnicities (Meadows, 2010). Anyone may potential cause abuse and/or neglect.
Neglect gets broken up into two types, passive and active (Meadows, 2010). Passive neglect is when “the primary caregiver, perhaps a son or daughter, for some reason is unable to provide required care” (Meadows, 2010, p.88). Active negle...
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...ept that someone close to you may treat another person in that manner. There are all kinds of reasons people may choose not to report the abuse to police. This can apply to the victim, caregiver or bystander; especially when severe legal penalties apply. People begin to second guess whether notifying law enforcement is the right action to take.
Works Cited
Conklin, J.E., Criminology, 10th edition, Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. 2007.
Meadows, R.J., Understanding Violence and Victimization, 5th Edition, Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2010
Payne, B. K. and Gainey, R. R. (2006). The Criminal Justice Response to Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes:. Retrieved July 27, 2010, from http://wcr.sonoma.edu/v07n3/67.payne/payne.pdf
Woolf, L. M. (1998). Elder Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved July 27, 2010, from http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/abuse.html
"Elder Abuse & Neglect." Elder Abuse and Neglect: Warning Signs, Risk Factors, Prevention, Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2014. .
Sengstock, M. C., & Hwalek, M. (1986). Domestic abuse of the elderly: Which cases involve the police? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1(3), 335-349. doi:10.1177/088626086001003006
According to Daly, Schmeidel Klein, & Jogerst, (2012), when dealing with abuse issues, nurses need to be aware of reasons why an older person may not want to report abuse and take this into consideration when soliciting information. Then, nurses can provide adequate information and resources to the older adult that may help them deal with the abuse. In addition, since elder abuse is perpetrated by family members, caregivers, and other individuals, the most effective method to eliminate elder abuse is to promote elder abuse awareness in private homes and nurse care setting to education individuals about elder abuse, signs of elder abuse and hence improve their relationship with the older individuals. Patients should also be educated on elder abuse, their civil rights and how to seek help when they experience abuse. Nurses play a huge role in detecting elder-abuse especially during patient assessment. Furthermore, in support of nursing education, Muehlbauer & Crane argues
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]
As noted by Statistics Canada (2013), the number of older adults will more than triple by 2031, thus the number of cases of elder abuse will likely increase in alignment. With this notion in mind, it seems ostensive that nurses must develop a decent understanding of what it entails, including identification of those who may be most vulnerable. Financial abuse involves the unauthorized use and or procurement of an older adults wealth (Gibson & Honn Qualls, 2012, p. 26). It is interesting to not...
There are several reasons why MR. P is being neglected. One of the reasons is because he has limited contact with relatives and has no social support. The second reasons are because he is disabled. He is vulnerable to neglect because he need help 24 hours care a day. The third reason is that he lives with an uncertified caregiver with post-traumatic stress which can affect the way he thinks and respond to people. MR
Many seniors around the world are being abused and harmed in some substantial way often by people who are directly responsible for their care (Robinson, 2016). Neglect of all forms causes harm to a patients overall well-being. Neglect happens in 60% of people and physical abuse happens to 15% of people (Franklin, 2013). There are three different types of neglect that can happen especially to the elderly. The three types of neglect are mental, emotional and physical neglect. Mental neglect, is basically ignoring or just not showing care or love for the patient. Emotional neglect is not only ignoring, but isolating the patient from others. Physical neglect which is causing physical injury to the body from rough handleing or non-supervision. Neglect is damaging not only to a body but also to the mind and over all
In order to understand how abuse has an effect on the elderly we must first understand the different types of elder abuse. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can aid in understanding the different forms by defining what each form entails (CDC, 2016). Physical abuse is the intentional use of physical force that results in illness, injury, pain, functional impairment, distress or even death. Neglect can be defined as failure by the
Elder abuse 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 or violates their human and civil rights” (UCD and HSE 2012). It is inappropriate actions against an older person that harms them and defys them in any way and violates them as a human being. The forms of abuse can be physical, sexual. psychological, financial or material abuse , neglect on acts of commission or discriminatory abuse.(UCD and HSE 2012). There are different kinds of abuse and abusing patterns that can happen to an elder person such as Long-term abuse, Opportunistic abuse, Situational abuse, Neglect of a person’s needs, Institutional abuse, Unacceptable forms of ‘treatments’ which include acts of punishment, racist and discriminatory practice, failure to get access to key services such as health care or any other forms of care. Mishandling of benefits or Fraud or intimidation in connection with wills, property ...
It can happen at home, in a nursing home, or even in public. Robinson, Saisan and Segal stated, “Sadly, two of the most common sources of elder abuse are abuse by a primary caregiver – often an adult child – and self-neglect.” Abuse happens every day. Many times, people suspect that their family member is abusing a loved one but are to ashamed to report it. Robinson, Saisan and Segal emphasize, “Everyone deserves to live with dignity and respect. The earlier you intervene in a situation of elder abuse, the better the outcome will be for everyone involved.” Another type or abuse that many tend to ignore is self-neglect. The Health and Wellness Resource Center reports, “Self-neglect is failing to preform essential, self-care tasks, to an extent that threatens personal health and safety.” Most times, the self-neglect is unintentional because the elder will refuse any type of help. “He or she may be in denial, feel ashamed about needing help, or worried about having to leave home. Don’t stop checking with the older adult, even if you are being brushed off…Sometimes a peer or neutral party, such as a geriatric care manager, may have a better chance or getting through.” When an elder refuses help one cannot force them to do something they don’t want to, but it is good to keep asking them if they want help so that when they do need help they are aware that someone is there for
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.
There are five types of elderly abuse that can occur. The types are physical, psychological, sexual, neglect and financial abuse (Fox, 2012). With each type of abuse there can be another type attached. For example, with sexual abuse there can be a psychological abuse present that could send someone into a state of depression. Clinicians have the responsibilities to: the patient, interpret findings and recognize patterns of harm and promulgate the issue in wider professional and public forums. Clinicians are responsible for the employees and the patients housed under their care. The clinicians are required to report and unusual findings they find within all staff and patients to the individuals in charge. When dealing with nursing homes or facilities that house the elderly, the facilities sometimes offer different forums or programs that can help the individuals deal with as many problems they are facing due to the abuse that they have encountered.
There are currently two important pieces of legislation that address elder abuse issues. The Older Americans Act must submit to a reauthorization process every five years. Throughout the years there have been many adaptations to the act. Presently, there are four sections that apply to elder abuse primarily in the form of research processes, grant eligibili...
Linzer, N. (2004). An ethical dilemma in elder abuse. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 43(2/3), 165-173.
The rapidly increasing population of elderly people has been accompanied by a number of challenges to the elderly, communities, and the state. The frequency of victimization of the elderly through various crimes has escalated with the criminal justice system facing increasing pressure to curb this trend. Despite all states having legislation that target protecting the adult population from crimes, wide gaps in reporting of crimes against the elderly are evident across the nation. The elderly have increasingly become more vulnerable to physical, financial, and emotional abuse. In many cases, citizens who are aware of these abuses may fail to report to the police or the elderly people themselves may fear engaging in legal battles. Many of the crimes perpetrated against the elderly to a considerable extent reflect the general state of affairs as far as criminal activities are concerned. However, some categories of crimes are more prevalent among the elderly. This paper shall discuss these categories of crimes in light of the manner and forms in which they occur. In addition, the paper shall allude to the existing gaps in reporting and efforts by the criminal justice system, and what needs to be done in order to bridge the gap.