Elder Financial Abuse

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

Firstly, financial abuse is defined as the illegal or improper use of funds or assets that do not belong to oneself (British Columbia Law Institute, 2011). In a NBC article by Herb Weisbaum (2011), he talks about why the elderly become targets of financial abuse, “Con artists also prey on older people, because as a group they control a tremendous amount of this country’s wealth. And in many cases, poor health — both physical and mental — makes them easy targets for financial predators” (para.

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.

Elder abuse has a long standing history dating back before the 1960’s, “it is only in recent decades that elder abuse as a social policy issue has moved to the forefront of health care and social services in the United States” (Falk, Baigis, & Kopac, 2012). In March of 2010, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; The Elder Justice Act, first introduced in 2003, was signed into law. The Elder Justice Act provides federal resources to “prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and to protect elders with diminished capacity while maximizing their

It is estimated that one in ten American over the age of 60 are victims of elder abuse each year. Elder abuse is a difficult subject; however, it is a subject that must be addressed. Thousands of senior citizens are being abused or neglected each day in this country. It is everyone’s responsibility to take acts to prevent elder abuse when possible.

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).

Financial elder abuse has become an epidemic because it is a crime that lives in the shadows, and as long as it remains there, the list of victims is sure to grow. Approximately 12% of the cases reported to the National Center on Elder Abuse relate to finances, and the cost to the elderly and vulnerable victim averages $30,000. It is impossible to get accurate numbers on the radically underreported crime since the victims feels shame or are afraid of losing autonomy. Some estimates put the rate of reporting at just 1 in 44 cases of financial fraud.

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).

Elder Abuse is one of the single most important issues affecting the elder population in

Elder abuse is wide spread. Surprisingly, elder abuse was first described in research articles in the 1970s. Its severity and rates of occurrence continue to increase. Acierno et al. (2010) conducted a national telephone interview survey of randomly selected adults from several geographical areas who were at least 60 years old. Average age of respondents was 71.5 years. Most of the abused were women (39.8%). Over 68% were married or cohabitating. Most were white (87.5%). Eighty percent were unemployed or retired, 45.7% had low incomes and 62% had endured at least one traumatic event. Almost half needed some type of social services or daily living assistance. The data collected indicated the most prevalent abuses reported by the 5777 respondents over their lifetimes were: emotional mistreatment (21.7%), physical abuse (12%) and sexual mistreatment (7%). Within the previous year, potential neglect and financial mistreatment by family members each occurred about 5%

Elders in the United States should not have to go through situations of abuse like the one Mildred Mortenson suffered. However, this type of situations happen more often than they should and sadly, there is not enough being done to prevent it. Elder abuse should be recognized as an increasing and very serious problem in our society. As elders grow more physically frail and begin to depend on others to meet their basic needs, they tend to become vulnerable to intentional abuse and neglect within their own home as well as assisted living facilities such as nursing homes. Unfortunately, it is not possible to know exactly how many elders are being abused across the Nation. Due to under-reporting, variations in the definition of elder abuse,

Also many elders do not report abuse because of disbelief, shame or fear of further abuse (Sev’er, 2014, p.287). As well a lot of victims are unaware they are being abused (Barnett et al., 2011, p.590). Elder abuse as data has shown does not just exist in family setting but in old age institutions (Sev’er, 2010, p.287). However, there is a lack of research and data on old age institutions committing elder abuse. The largest form of abuse that the elderly experience is neglect which is also the hardest to detect (Sev’er, 2010, p.288). While Mandell & Duffy (2005) argue that financial abuse is the most common form of abuse against the elderly (p.305). It’s important to look at what elderly feel and think of elder abuse in society. In the data collected by Ploeg et al (2013) shows emotional abuse as most committed by perpetuators

The abuse of older adults needs to be recognized by all in order to prevent it from happening. Knowledge is key to prevent abuse from taking place. Everyone including seniors need to be able to recognize the signs of abuse

As learned from the video clip, “Adult Protective Services & Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse,” (C-Dub Productions, 2012), elder abuse is a crime that is affecting our communities regardless of economic, language or financial status. Elders and dependent adults are among the most vulnerable. They experience all types of abuse, physical neglect, and financial scams. It is worrying that adults being as much or more exposed to abuse as children are not protected. Older people are often isolated; they do not seek help or talk about the abuse they are facing. Sometimes elders put their pride before anything else. The feeling of shame often results in elder abuse remaining hidden.