Elder Abuse Research

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 Ontario Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse states that 10% of older adults are abused in some way; which is over 160,000 people in Ontario. Elderly abuse is categorized as the violence, mistreatment or neglect of an elderly person by caregivers, service providers, family, or even strangers (Canadian Government). A senior citizen can be abused physically, financially, psychologically, and rarely, sexually. The mistreatment is usually because of the influence a caregiver has over an older adult. The abuse on the elderly can happen in long term care facilities or in the home; it usually goes unnoticed and unreported (Elder Abuse and Neglect). The concern of abuse on the elderly population is a growing issue due to the increasing populace of older people and baby boomers; physical, financial, and emotional abuse are the most common forms. The problem needs to be taken more seriously, the types of abuse may vary, but regardless of the form, abuse among the elderly needs to end.

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

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.

Many times, it is the family of the older adult who are inflicting the abuse. This makes the older adults reluctant to report any form of abuse for many reasons. One reason being that they do not want to report their loved one for the abuse is because they are afraid of them being sent to jail (DeLiema et al., 2015). Also, these individuals are reluctant to report their family care givers, because they are loved ones, so as a result they tend to find a way to justify the abuse. Another issue is that the elderly population is very discreet and private; they do not want to share their personal issues with anyone outside of their home, because they may feel ashamed or embarrassed. This makes them hesitant to share any information regarding the abuse to healthcare professionals, or other legal sources. Yet another reason, these older adults fear that if they do report the abuse, they will be removed from their current living situation and put into a nursing facility (DeLiema et al., 2015). Being put into a nursing facility may make the older adult feel powerless and unable to have a say in their living situation. All in all, it is very difficult for an older adult to report any abuse that is possibly being inflicted on them, because they feel so many different pressures of “consequences” that may

It can be difficult to detect elder abuse, because many of these individuals are socially isolated, which means they have few social interactions with other people and the outside world. The majority of abusers are, unfortunately, family members of the victim.

They found medical personnel caring for older adults regularly encounter abuse victims. The researchers noted that poor physical health often leads to elder abuse. They concluded that since elder abuse victims generally are isolated and lack social support, even intermittent interactions with physicians provide opportunities to identify, assess, intervene or refer victims to appropriate social service agencies. They caution that elder abuse must use an inter professional approach to help resolve abusive situations. This could include social workers, protective services and law enforcement

This book has two focuses. The first part was about present general information about elder abuse and neglect. The authors start their book by defining elder abuse and descripting senior adults as a vulnerable population. They focus on identifying the five factors of elder abuse by reviewing some studies of elder abuse and neglect. According to sociological, psychological, and gerontological literature on family relations, the authors explain some reasons of occurring this issue such as intra-individual dynamics, intergenerational, dependency and exchange relations between abusing and abused persons, external stress, and social isolation. The second part of the book focuses on victims and the abuse situation itself. Through comparative analyses,

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?

A term that is quite often used in today’s society is family violence, more specifically child abuse and spousal abuse. A term that is not heard often is elder abuse, which is unfortunate due to the fact that it is a fairly common occurrence. It was estimated that in 2009, one in ten elderly Americans were victims of elder abuse within the previous year (Acierno, 2010). Even though elder abuse is prevalent here in America, it is seldom that this phenomenon is actually discussed.

In general, elder abuse refers to any knowing, intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. All fifty states have laws of some form that prohibit elder abuse. Sadly, we do not know exactly how many elderly suffer from neglect and abuse. Although, statistics show female elders are abused at a higher rate than males. The elderly person may be hesitant to report the abuse because of lack of physical ability to report or fear or retaliation. Most of the time, the abusers are family members. Family members who use a lot drugs or alcohol, have a mental illness, and who feel burdened by their caregiving responsibilities are more likely to be abusive. About 5.1 million Americans over the age of 65 have

The definition of elder abuse also includes the failure of any caregiver; as they do not satisfy the needs of an elder or protect them from any harm (NCEA, 2012, p. 1). In accordance to a 2012 report (based on NCEA, Bureau of Justice Statistics), the number of elder abuse cases in 2010 was 9.5% of the elderly population. Along were the different types of elder abuse and their percentages. In 2010 the types of abuse were reported as: neglect (58.5%), physical abuse (15.7%), financial abuse (12.3%), psychological abuse (7.3%), sexual abuse (0.04%), all other types (5.1%), and unknown (0.06%) (Statistic Brain, 2012). Typically these horrific cases of abuse take place in private homes, long-term care facilities (nursing homes, assisted living facilities), and hospitals. Roughly 1 out of 14 reported cases of elder mistreatment took place in the victim’s domestic setting (e.g., home) while physical abuse was identified as the most common type of abuse in nursing homes. (Elder-law.law, 2013). It has been reported that for every one case of elder mistreatment brought to the attention of authorities, roughly five cases go unreported due to the victim’s loyalty or fear of their abuser; shame for being reliant on the abuser; or being unaware about existing services that can help them. Since elder abuse is so poorly recognized a lot of people fail to realize that it is a lot more involved than just physical abuse. Elder abuse can be filed into the following

harm on an older adult. Elder abuse can also take the form of intentional or unintentional neglect of an older adult by the caregiver.

Elder abuse isn’t an easy topic to talk about—but it happens too often to continue to turn a blind eye too. According to the National Council of Aging (2016), also known as the NCOA, one in every ten Americans, over the age of 60, have experienced some form of elder abuse, with only one in every fourteen cases being reported to authorities. NCOA (2016) defines elder abuse and neglect as “intentional actions that cause harm or creates serious risk of harm to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or another person in a trusted relationship” with the individual. This includes failure, of the caregiver, to satisfy the basic needs or to protect in the individual from harm along with physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and financial exploitation.

Elder Abuse and Neglect Initiative.” They report that there are estimated to be five million