Financial Abuse of the Elderly

Elder Abuse is defined as any activity performed by an individual whereby these actions cause suffering of the older adult, intentionally or not (Touhy, Jett, Boscart & McCleary, 2012, p. 378). Unfortunately, the incidents of elder abuse continue to rise with the increasing number of people entering older adulthood. It is interesting to note that although elder abuse is highly under reported its occurrence increased three fold over a ten-year period (Friese & Collopy, 2010, p. 61). Certainly, it is a nurse’s duty to provide holistic care to his or her patients, which must include protection from abuse. Elder abuse can take on many forms including physical, emotional, sexual, neglect and financial. It is important to note that for the purposes of this paper, this writer will focus solely on financial abuse. When one considers the definition of financial abuse, it is deemed to be a misuse of another individual’s finances for ones own monetary gain. Thus, this type of abuse has become the most common and fastest growing form of all. As such, it is important for all nurses to understand financial abuse and who is at risk, how it presents, and what can be done to prevent it in order to protect the elderly.

Financial Abuse and Those at Risk.

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...

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Knowles, M., & Campbell, A. (2013). Financial abuse in care homes: do you know what to look out for? Nursing and Residential Care, 15, 294-296. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2012085748&site=ehost-live

Statistics Canada. (2013). National seniors day... by the numbers. Retrieved from http://www42.statcan.gc.ca/smr08/2013/smr08_178_2013-eng.htm

Swan, A. (2007). Give consideration to financial abuse among the older population. British Journal of Community Nursing, 12, 474-476. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2009697435&site=ehost-live

Touhy, T. A., Jett, K. F., Boscart, V., & McCleary, L. (2012). Ebersole and hess’ gerontological nursing & healthy aging (1st ed.). Toronto, ON: Elsevier Canada.