Elder Abuse : An Ethical Dilemma

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

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention standardly defines elder abuse as “any abuse and neglect of persons age 60 or older by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust” (CDC, Elder Abuse). It is always thought that the elderly are treated with honor, dignity and respect but many of the elderly have been abused and neglected as much if not worse than the children we spoke of in our previous discussions. Who seriously could hurt these frail people, someone’s grandparents, possibly even your own; persons who because of the aging process have lost their ability to fight back and are being bullied or attacked by someone in a position of trust. It is estimated that 70% to 90% of the perpetrators of elderly

Nurses are facing many legal or ethical dilemmas in their career. Nurses should combine knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of health care and professional values into nursing practice. It is very essential to know what kind of dilemmas nurses may face during their profession and how they have been dealt with in the past.

This essay will examine elder abuse and its role in our society. The definition of elder abuse and the different types of elder abuse will be examined. Additionally, literature that highlight legislative changes to current elder abuse laws and the origins of those laws will be examined. The paper will also discuss national reports of elder abuse statistics and the current status of elder abuse. Finally, recommendations based upon the information researched will be provided as a guide for the future.

As Americans live longer, it is no surprise that the population of older adults has increased; consequently so has the ubiquitous problem of elder abuse. In the United States elder abuse is an exceedingly, overlooked public health hazard; which covers a wide range of abuses. Approximately 2 million adults, over the age of 60 are abused or mistreated each year. ("Elder Justice: A John A. Hartford Foundation Change AGEnts Issue Brief", 2016) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has defined elder abuse as "an intentional act, or failure to act, by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult, age 60 and older” (“Elder Abuse: Definitions”, 2016) Studies show a vast majority of health care professionals underestimate the occurrence of elder

Elder mistreatment is unrecognized, hidden, and underreported. Studies showed that nurses among health professionals are largely unaware of the various forms of elder mistreatment that take place and of the proper course of action to pursue when mistreatment is suspected Falk, Baigis, and Kopac(2012). People should be aware of the many faces of elder maltreatment, and all health caregivers working with older adults need to recognize, treat, and prevent elder abuse and neglect (Daly, et al., 2012).

Elder abuse is of growing concern in today’s society; it is the single most unreported cause of abuse. The thesis of this paper is to describe elder abuse, look at why it is becoming such a problem and what is being done to correct it. According to World Health Organization it is estimated that 80 percent of elder abuse is unreported (Daly, Schmeidel & Jogerst, 2012). Elder abuse is a problem not only just in the health care setting but community wide. Patience and having the time to care for the elderly population is becoming more and more of a struggle in that nurses are being continuously bombarded with a larger patient load and a lack of help. In an article by Rosen (2014), it is stated that five

Elder mistreatment is a serious problem in America, yet it often overlooked. Elder abuse is defined as abuse in older adults that includes, but isn’t limited to physical, emotional, financial or sexual abuse. It 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. It is often misunderstood and dismissed as just a family matter when in fact, that is the least common source of cruelty amongst the elders. According to the National council of aging, 1 in 10 Americans aged 60 and older have experienced some form of abuse. Some estimates range as high as 5 million elders who are reportedly abused yearly.

The research interest topic is the prevalence of elder abuse and neglect found in selected Ohio nursing homes and what, if any consequences the nursing homes encounter if elder abuse cases are substantiated. A theory consists of a body of ideas regarding a particular phenomenon or topic (Cozby & Bata, 2012). Therefore, a theory seeks the truth from reasoned known facts, which serves as a basis of investigation (Burnight & Mosqueda, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical perspective.

Elder abuse is a serious problem and almost 14.1 percent of noninstutionalized older adults in the United States have experience it in the past year (govtrack.us, 2016). The elder abuse is any kind of mistreatment that causes harm or loss to an older adults and it is not only limited to physical and psychological abuse, but also include sexual and financial abuse, and neglect (National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, 2008). In addition, the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (2008) mentioned that older adults as a result of abuse can lose their independence, homes, life savings, health, dignity, and security. Most importantly, the older adults who have been abused are 300% at higher risk of death than non-abused older adults (N National Center on Elder Abuse, 2016).

The aging population is at high risk of being taken advantage of and mistreated by a caregiver or family member. Elders are the most vulnerable group of people and are subject to elder abuse in their later years of life. The Administration of Aging refers to elder abuse as the knowing, intentional, or negligent act that causes harm or serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. Every year, hundreds of thousands of older adults are abused, neglected, and exploited. Unfortunately, a trusted caregiver or a loved one commits most of these heinous acts.

The elderly population is faced with many challenges as they age. One of the challenges is elder abuse. Globally, elderly abuse is a major social problem that has worsened over time. Physical, sexual, emotional or psychological and financial abuses are some of the forms of abuse the elderly population are subject to. Has memory problems such as dementia, lack of support and physical disabilities are some causes or risk factors of elderly abuse. The consequences of such abuse going unresolved is have health issues, such as depressions, anxiety, stress, long term-psychological issues and even death. Moreover, “elderly abuse is often defined as a repeated or single act, or lack of appropriate action, that happens in any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes distress, injury, or suffering to an older person” (Kilvik et. al., 2015). The prevalence of Elder abuse is that of a world-wide issue caused by perpetrators, such as family members, friends, healthcare professionals, relatives and strangers. Interventions and prevention measures are put into place to help older adults suffering from the after math of abuse. As the elderly population grow, elder abuse increases. what are the different forms of elderly abuse? What are the various risk factors of elder abuse?

Harbison, J., etc. (2012). Understanding “Elder Abuse and Neglect”: A critique of assumptions underpinning responses to the mistreatment and neglect of older people. Journal of elder abuse & neglect, 24(2), 88-103.

“Every year an estimated 5 million older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. And that’s only part of the picture: Experts believe that for every case of elder abuse or neglect reported, as many as 23 cases go unreported” ("World Elder Abuse Awareness Day"). The issue of elderly abuse is a growing topic in our country because it violates three specific articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Elderly abuse and neglect is an increasing age discrimination issue in the United States and violates the human rights to an adequate standard of living, equal protection under the law, and the right to be free from degrading treatment.

Older adults are the ones that tend to be most forgotten by being pushed away into a nursing home, where their families seldom visit, or tend to be overlooked and bypassed. A majority of American’s assume that just because a person is much older, means that they do not have the same problems as the younger generations, however, that is false. Older people can have the same problems has everyone else, they can have depression, they can have a sex drive, and have an increase chance of being mistreated and abused. When discussing elder mistreatment, people are sometimes taken back that elders can in fact be mistreated. Senior citizens have a great change of being abused because of the type of care-giver they have, the health issues that have put