When the word ‘abuse’ is said, most people automatically think ‘child abuse’ or ‘domestic abuse.’ Both of these are terrible things, and unfortunately, there are even more forms of abuse. Elderly people also face the horrors of abuse, often times in their own homes or in elder care facilities. Many elderly people experience different forms of abuse and neglect. “According to the World Health Organization, as of October 2015, about one in 10 older people experience abuse every month. This can involve physical, sexual, psychological or financial abuse or neglect.” (Calls for national plan to tackle abuse of elderly) The elderly cannot protect themselves from abuse and if they say something about being abused they may not get listened to. Elderly people are overlooked in today’s society. About 50,000 people over 65 years old have experienced some form of abuse. (Calls for national plan to tackle abuse of elderly) The cost of elderly abuse is increasing by a lot. “Medicare spent approximately $2.8 billion on hospital treatment in 2011 because of harm experienced in nursing home facilities.” (New York Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer Adnan Munawar Expresses Concern over Lack in Quality Nursing Home Care) The care of elderly people in nursing homes are very poor. A …show more content…
The issue is almost invisible to the federal government, as a growing issue in the world today the government must take action to make elderly abuse a priority in the country and around the world. Nursing homes isn’t the only place that senior citizens see abuse. “Seniors may be abused by family members or others in their homes”. (Blancato) Elderly people may also conflict self-harm if they cannot take care of themselves properly. (Blancato) “Based on the National Center on Elder Abuse’s collection of data from the states for the year 2000, there were a total of 470,709 reports of adult/elder abuse. This represented a 60 percent increase from 1996.”
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
Elderly abuse made its first appearance in national scene in the late 1970s. However, the proper efforts to help vulnerable elders began at least two decades before the 1070s. This is when protective
Although it does not usually make news headlines and is rarely discussed, nursing home residents and the elderly experience abuse sometimes on a daily basis. Medical errors, physical abuse, or stealing from them could all be classified as abuse. All around the world today, a population that is not able to help itself is being harmed, whether it is physical or sexual abuse, exploitation, or not being properly supervised; the elderly and nursing home residents are being abused.
Abuse can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. However, it is so alarming that more and more elderly people suffer from abuse everyday. Many elderly adults are being abused in their homes and even in care facilities such as nursing homes responsible for their care. How can elderly groups be vulnerable to abuse and/or harm to self and others? And
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
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.
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
Hello Antonia, thank you for being a major part of this week’s discussion, and sharing your potential funding sources that appears to be a great fit. I cannot recall if I extend gratitude to you for selecting this population as your idea project, so thank you for doing so. This population being at-risk to abuse and mistreatment is worthy to be address. How sad! Acierno, and colleagues (2010), indicated that The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study, had conducted a decade ago, was the first major investigation of mistreatment among the aging population in the United States and found that 449924 persons aged 60 years or older had been physically abused, neglected, or had been mistreated in some kind of way. I was appalled in the number of elderly being abused and just think this study does not include the cases that were unreported.
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).
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,
Elderly abuse in nursing homes in America is an uprising issue. Elders make up a large portion of our population and they deserve the equality. This issue is very important because eventually this could affect you personally, or a loved one in your family. I stand for better environments in these nursing homes and find it terrible that elders get treated so poorly. The reason the number of reports on elder abuse has gone up so rapidly in the past decade is because the number of elders has drastically risen. There is an increase in the number of elders not only because Americans are living longer than ever before, but also because the next generation of senior citizens is larger than ever before. It has been predicted
Elder Abuse is defined as any activity performed by an individual whereby these actions cause suffering of the older adult, intentionally or not (Touhy, Jett, Boscart & McCleary, 2012, p. 378). Unfortunately, the incidents of elder abuse continue to rise with the increasing number of people entering older adulthood. It is interesting to note that although elder abuse is highly under reported its occurrence increased three fold over a ten-year period (Friese & Collopy, 2010, p. 61). Certainly, it is a nurse’s duty to provide holistic care to his or her patients, which must include protection from abuse. Elder abuse can take on many forms including physical, emotional, sexual, neglect and financial. It is important to note that for the