A Social Worker

Elder abuse includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as neglect, exploitation and abandonment of our older generation (Falk, 2012). The people that cause these injuries include the elderly person’s own family and staff members of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, medical rehabilitation facilities and hospitals (NCOA, 2017). There is approximately 1 in 10 older adults that have experienced some type of elder abuse in the United States (NCOA, 2017). Within these staggering numbers, only 1

Abuse can happen to anyone, but elderly adults residing in nursing homes are more vulnerable and have a higher risk for abuse (Rasansky Law Firm, 2006, para. 1). Elders are among the fastest growing in the population, and because of this many more elderly

Each year there is an estimated 4 million elderly Americans that are victims of physical, psychological, or abused in other ways (Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2016, from http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/guides/elder-abuse.aspx). There are some cases that get reported to the proper authorities and some cases that do not get reported at all. For the abused elderly people, their lives are put at risk and their health also declines. They feel helpless and lonely and have increased psychological distress and research has suggested that these victims die earlier than those who have not been abused (Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2016, from http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/guides/elder-abuse.aspx).

Abuse of the elderly is a common issue, but the aging adults are protected by a federal law known as the “Elder Justice Act”. According to Hillier and Barrow (2011), between 3 percent and 6 percent of people over the age of 65 report being abused. However, elderly abuse is usually not reported, because the abuser is typically a family member. So, the abuse adult will not report the abuse because they are afraid of making the abuser angrier or being isolated (Hillier & Barrow, 2011, p. 328). According to the department of health and human services “The “Elder Justice Act” is the first comprehensive federal legislation to address elder abuse, was signed into law by President Obama in March, 2010 as part of the health care reform act.”

As of 2010, 13% of the United States population was 65 years of age or older (National Center on Elder Abuse, 2014). Men and women today are living longer and want to remain in their own homes as long as they possibly can, rather than reside in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. In order for these men and women to remain at home, they need support and resources, as there are a number of different types of abuse against elderly men and women. These types of abuse including physical abuse, verbal/emotional abuse, financial exploitation, and even the rare occasion of sexual abuse that occurs at home. This paper will discuss the issue of elder sexual abuse within one’s own home and from one’s own family member. Routine

For decades professionals and the public have viewed elder abuse as predominantly social or family problems. Thanks to British Medical Journal in 1975, there has been an increase in attention from social workers and public health departments about elder abuse (Dong, 2010). Abuse is one of the hardest things to control, because of the reluctance to reporting it. Many reasons why this happens is because the abused person may rely on the abuser for survival. Even though elder abuse is rarely out of the news, it seems to be increasing. The Charity Action on elder abuse has found that over a 6 months period, local authorities have reported 639 abuse cases. 188 of these cases were in care homes and 116 cases the abuser was working in either a care

The number of incidents of elder abuse will continue to increase, as the population of elderly continues to grow throughout the year. Each year, more than thousands of older adults physically abused, uncared for, and exploited. Many victims are classified as people who are the older adults who are weak, defenseless and cannot help themselves. With over 30% of nursing homes nationwide were cited for elder abuse, 5,283 facilities — were cited for almost 9,000 instances of abuse (“Elderly Abused at 1 in 3 Nursing Homes: Report,” 2015). Elderly people who live in nursing homes or other residential care may not be able to communicate with anyone that they have been either abused or neglected by a health care worker or faculty member since some may have a medical condition from different illnesses and disabilities that weakens their capability to speak. On the other hand, those who can speak and may have been physically abused may not wish to tell anyone since they may fear that the

What goes on, on a day-to-day basis referring to our elders and their caregivers? Do the staff and faculty treat them with proper respect, love, and care? Elder abuse has been the last form of violence to receive multidisciplinary professional interest. It is thought that today in America roughly 500,000 to 2 million elders are abused, those numbers vary depending on your sources. This research paper focuses not only the causes, affects and prevention, but also the importance of not neglecting the elderly and their needs. The following information supports unanswered confusion as to why elderly patients are continuously mistreated in nursing homes. It is inhumane to hurt not only a harmless person, but a vulnerable defenseless patient.

Elder abuse also known as elder mistreatment has been around for many, many years but is now just coming to the forefront and being acknowledged by the society on a whole. intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm, whether or not intended, to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder or (b) failure by a caregiver to satisfy the elder’s basic needs or to protect the elder from harm” (p. 39).This abuse can take many forms and in different settings as well as many different type of persons including and especially family members and acquaintances. This type of abuse includes physical, sexual, emotional, neglect both by a caregiver or self-neglect, abandonment, psychological , exploitation financially as well materialistically including fraud (Clark, 2015, p.914). With an estimated doubling of the elderly population by 2025 to at least 1.5 to 2 million, increases in the number of elderly person in the nation also means there will be an increase in elder abuse (Aravanis, Adelman, Breckman, Fulmer, Holder, Lachs, & ... Sanders, 1993). A declaration according to, “ The World Health Organization is that elder abuse is a violation of an older adult’s fundamental rights to be safe and live free from violence.” It is estimated that some form of abuse be it physical, sexual, psychological, neglect, and or financial exploitation affects one in every ten older

“Elder abuse can be difficult to detect. Victims often refuse to report abuse because of feelings of shame, guilt, and fear, or because they are socially isolated or mentally or physically disabled” (Meeks-Sjostrom, 2004, p. 250). I feel that as nurses we must advocate for the elderly. If we see signs of abuse we need to report it immediately. DCF and risk management need to be involved in these cases and make these caregivers accountable. If more of these abusers were convicted and served time for such abuse then maybe others would see the consequences to this horrible problem. I feel we also need to make the public aware of these types of abuse so that everyone, not just those in healthcare can advocate for the elderly in their

Elder abuse is a rarely talked about, yet growing, situation throughout the United States with many impactful health and public consequences. No matter a person’s race, culture, social class, religion, physical addition, or sexual orientation, abuse is a tragedy that can impact anyone even elder adults. Until the judicial system, health care professionals, family members, and other community members ban together to handle and help prevent this situation from occurring, elder abuse will continue to be unnoticed, with devastating consequences for older adults as well as their loved ones.

Senior abuse should not be taken lightly. A lot of elderly people males and female’s aged 65 and older have encountered some manifestation of misuse whether it is physical, sexual, psychological, or neglect. As reported to the WHO, 36 % of nursing staff have witnessed a minimum of one incident of physical abuse to an elderly patient, 10% confessed to committing one act of corporal abuse, and 40% acknowledged they mentally abused patients (2002). These accounts of abusing the elderly are such traumatic issues that this causes more than just a problem for the elderly who are being victimized, but also their families.

State of the Problem – Elder Abuse in our country is growing in America. All people have the right to live their lives without abuse, neglects, and being exploitations. It should not matter how old we are everyone has value. The 2004 Survey of State Adult Protective Services, found the following: that a 19.7 percent increase from 2000 – 2004 in the combined total of reports of elder and vulnerable adult abuse and there was a 15.6 percent increase from 2000 – 2004 in substantiated cases; and the abuse occurred more than two in five victims which is (42.8%) were age 80 or older; Most alleged perpetrators in 2003 were adult children (32.6%) or other family members (21.5%), and spouses/intimate partners accounted for 11.3% of the total.

It is also not limited to just physical abuse, elder abuse can range from emotional, financial, or sexual abuse. Society has been turning a blind eye to elder abuse because it is not commonly reported. Even workers in a nursing home that suspected abuse against the elder patients did not try to report anything because they did not know where to report it or if it would be solved. A shocking survey of care home workers, “found that 88 percent had witnessed or suspected abuse in nursing homes which previously employed them” (Donnelly).

(Homan, 2011, p. 393) Jasa and Talia aid empower elders so they can have independence and take control of their environment by knowing that they will protect them from the hands of the abusers. Sadly, this is a reality that many elders face. Jasa and Talia spoke about the warning signs of elders who are being abuse such as bruised or scratched, depression, fearful, isolation and being unkempt. This was troubling to sit and listen to, but as social workers in the field it is imperative that we are aware of the issues so that we can implement change and be able to understand the complications as well as the guilt and shame that elder’s experiences. It is daunting to learned that victims who are being abuse are afraid to speak up. Jasa and Talia stated that “76 out of every 1,000 older new Yorkers are victims of elder abuse in a one-year period.” How do we as a society allow the most venerable group of people to be subjected to unjust treatment and behaviors? With JASA’S and elder abuse prevention and intervention program are available to aid elders who are being abuses and educating family to caring for the elders in a human