Elder Abuse Summary

This research paper is being submitted on December 8, 2011, for Mara Pehkonen’s M230 Medical Law and Ethics Course.

Is it worth putting your loved ones in a nursing home facility? According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Each year, hundreds of thousands of adults over the age of 60 are abused, neglected, or financially exploited.” Family members of an elderly person might assume that because they are paying such a large amount of money for assistance and a room in the facility, that they’re getting the best treatment and care for their relative. Although one might believe their loved ones would be better off in a nursing home, they might be putting them at a greater risk of abuse due to understaffing, lack of training within the staff, neglect, nurse burnout, and low wages. 2,150,000 cases

Do you have a loved one in a nursing home? Imagine if your grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, mom, dad or other loved one was being abused. How would this make you feel? Abuse does not necessarily mean physical abuse (hitting, scratching, pulling hair, etc.). Other types of abuse include sexual, neglect, exploitation, emotional, abandonment, and self-neglect.

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

In the Journal of JAMA, Volume 302: Issue no. 5 published on August 5 2009 Elder Self-neglect and Abuse and Mortality Risk in a Community-Dwelling Population. The authors: X. Dong, MD, Melissa Simon, MD, Mph, Carols Mendes de Leon, PhD, Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, Todd Beck, MS, Liesi Herbert, ScD, Carmel Dyer, MD, Gregory Paveza PhD, MSW, Denis Evans, MD argue that both elder self-neglect and abuse is becoming more clear in regards to public health concerns, and that elder self-neglect or abuse is linked with mortality and not just on those that were vulnerable. In addition, that both elder neglect and abuse reported to social agencies there was an increased risk of mortality (Dong et al., 2009, p. 517).

One way elder abuse or elder mistreatment can be defined is, “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” (Bonnie & Wallace). There are seven main forms of elder abuse which include emotional, physical, psychological, sexual, financial, neglect, abandonment, and self-neglect (Cohen, Levin, Gagin & Friedman, 2007; Fulmer, 2008; Thompson & Priest, 2005). Even though only 6.2% of victims are abused in long-term care settings, my experience of witnessing neglect and abandonment are very serious (Teaster et al., 2006).

There is a great gap in understanding elder abuse prevention irrespective of the severity of the matter (Pillemer, Burnes, Riffin & Lachs, 2016). Additionally there are no cost-effective programs implemented to promote elder abuse intervention. However, in understanding the seriousness of the matter, any intervention method currently available calls for all the community members, including the general population and professionals to work together in preventing the prevailing problem. There are proposed frameworks that can mitigate the issue. The first method is the caregiver interventions which offer services to alleviate the burden of taking care of the elderly like in meal preparation and housekeeping (Pillemer, Burnes, Riffin & Lachs, 2016). The other system aims helping individuals vulnerable to financial abuse and these are known as money management programs which help with paying bills and paying for homecare (Pillemer, Burnes, Riffin & Lachs, 2016). Emergency shelter is also a proposed framework that offers a home to the abused individuals thus providing a safe haven to the victims (Pillemer, Burnes, Riffin & Lachs, 2016). Despite of inadequate literature on interventions for elder abuse, it is important that the health care practitioners develop a system that can promote prevention and treatment methods as it is their role to educate the society on what needs to be

The authours in their book focus on presenting some theories and conspts about elder abuse and general information about current abused and abusers. They also, concentarte in experssing their mission of writing this book which encompasess solutions to prevent elder abuse or limi it by making some change in policy and practice through educating people and raising awarence among people. Furthermore, the authours start their book by giving information about historical background of the development definiation of some terms as elder abuse, neglect, and verbal and non verbal abuse. Also, the book mentions some information about assessment, recognition, interventiontions, and some case studies of elder abuse in the United States and the UK.

As our population ages there are more individuals who are relying on the assistance and the care from others in order to perform tasks throughout their day. With this reliance on other individual’s assistance the elderly population is at an increased rate of experiencing a form of abuse from their caregiver. Children or a spouse are often found to be the abuser for elderly individuals who are still living in the community setting (DeLiema, Navarro, Enguidanos, &Wilber, 2015). This is becoming a growing concern, as it is estimated that around 10% of the United States elderly population is currently or has experiences at least one form of abuse. The forms of abuse that can occur include physical, sexual, psychological or emotional, financial

The cases of elder abuse or neglect reported is alarming. The association of morbidity and mortality is astonishing as more victims are being identified. Studies, including surveys and interviews, have been done to identify what group of elders are at higher risk for abuse. The occurrence rate is increasing with the elder women, as they are being controlled and threatened by their abuser. It is more than likely that more than one type of abuse is experienced by the elder adult. In a

The purpose of this research proposal is to examine the factors that contribute to elder abuse. The aim of the research is to view how the elderly

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

This scholarly journal looks at elderly abuse in general. It talks about different ways one can notice that the senior is being abused and what to do about the abuse. It also describes different reasons why the abusers abuse the elderly. It says how elderly abuse can be very difficult to notice and it is also difficult to help the seniors. The article then describes the difficulties that seniors have when they are abused. It talks a little about senior homes and how the elderly are treated by the nurses. It also gives some specific examples of abuse and the role of the government in this situation. This article is very opinionated and the author expresses her views on the topic very clearly.

To better understand the scope of the problem, it is crucial that society knows what is considered as elder abuse and why it is important to resolve this issue. Elder abuse refers to any intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. There are many forms in which an elder can be abused, “Elder Abuse and Neglect” Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services distinguishes between the five most common types of elder abuse as well as their effects and/or common signs and symptoms for each. These types of abuse include physical abuse,