Effects Of Elderly Abuse

Many elderly people are victims of abuse. It can happen to anyone, regardless of race, religion, or background. It can happen in many places, of which include the household of the elderly person, in the household of a family member, a place of assisted living, or a nursing home. Caring for someone who has a physical or mental disability can sometimes be difficult and exhausting. Some people responsible for providing care can be frustrated, which can lead to physical and emotional abuse of the elderly.

Elderly abuse is a significant social and global problem that includes physiological, financial, physical, and sexual abuse. Physical abuse is characterized by physical damage, which includes hitting, shoving, or slapping. Physiological abuse

He said that low staff levels and inadequate training are the most common contributors of elderly abuse. There are problems resulting from these factors. Firstly, some nursing homes do not have enough staff members and the only option that they have is to overload the work for nurses, causing an increase in work hours and high number of residents per staff. Secondly, inadequate training is a significant factor because when newly graduated nurses start working in nursing homes, they do not have the appropriate training on what to do to take care of an elderly person (Bern-Klug and Sabri, 2012). For example, in cases where the client is having a seizure, of bathing the resident, or reacting to medical emergencies, these newly graduated nurses are not trained in the rights of the elderly adult. This is where the abuse can be found to originate.

Lack of supervision by families, managers of the institution, and medical staff is another factor that causes elderly abuse. Sometimes families leave their parents in nursing homes with the assumption that they are in better hands. It is important to visit and talk to the elderly every single time that they see them. Most people don’t even know that their parents are suffering from abuse until something bad happens to them. Families usually trust nurses in the care of their loved ones, but it is necessary to be aware of what care the

While the law requires reporting if a person is suffering from abuse or not, most health care professionals consider the broader context of the patient before reporting. (Daly, Schmeidel Klein, & Jogerst, 2012) Lack of trust in the reporting system is another reason of why unreported cases of elderly abuse exist. Many institutions, such as Adult Protective Services (APS), have laws which provide immunity from liability for those who report. On the other hand, some health care professionals recognize that fear of liability keeps them from reporting, except in cases of absolute evidence. (Daly, Schmeidel Klein, & Jogerst, 2012)

After adequate reporting to the authorities of the hospital whether the patient is suffering from abuse or not, nurses generally do not know what happens after abuse is reported to the social worker. They believe that it is important to let the nurse know what is going to happen with the patient. This is very important since shifts change every 12 hours and a new nurse takes care of the same patient. Therefore, it is necessary to give information of what is going to happen and what to do in a case of an emergency (Daly, Schmeidel Klein, & Jogerst,