Essay on Elderly Abuse

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

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.

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 the healthcare system in this country has changed, so have traditional nursing homes. Families have the right to expect that their loved ones will be taken care of by professionals in a caring environment. Unfortunately, may people are being abused and neglected in nursing homes. It is very clear that abuse is a serious problem among nursing home patients, and something needs to be done to put a stop to it.

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).

With medical and technological advances, the United State’s life expectancy continues to increase, leading to an improved number of elderly individuals. As a nursing student, who worked at a nursing home for three years in high school, I am quite familiar with elderly abuse, especially institutional abuse. Prior to this discussion post, I persisted more familiar with the types of elderly abuse, rather than the incidence rates within the United States. To clarify this discussion post, elderly abuse stands defined 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” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). The risk of harm to an older adult subsisted evident in an institutional setting, from my work experience. While I cannot disclose that the nurses physically, sexually, or financially abused the residents, I am aware of the neglect and emotional abuse the occurred in this setting. The abuse that occurs to elderly individuals stems for two triggers – caregiver stress and the vulnerability of the elder. According to the textbook, “Exhaustion and anger can reach a boiling point and can create intergenerational conflicts” (Olson, DeFrain, & Skogrand, 2014, p. 383). When caregivers acquire stress, they tend to take out their aggression on the elder, intentionally or unintentionally, as they remain overwhelmed with emotions. Personally, I

Enforcing laws in nursing and care facilities will directly benefit both the elderly patients and the care physician. With laws enforced, and families and patients informed, a world of worry dissolves from the patient and the family. When patients and families don’t need to worry about the safety or livelihood in a nursing or care home, it benefits everyone. The census bureau states, “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, people 65 years of age and older accounted for 12.5% of the US population in 2000” (Sellas M.D.). It would be a huge relief for everyone if laws were enforced. Also, the work environment for the care and nursing physicians would greatly benefit from the enforcement of elder abuse safety regulations. As stated previously, most acts of violence in the nursing and care fields occur when employees collect low wages and feel miserable because of their working environment. When the government enforces laws, it creates a better working environment and then a safer environment for patients. In many cases, nurses and other caregivers may not know exactly what forms elder abuse can take. They need to be informed, in a variety of ways. According to the Oxford Journal, “There is an annual world Elder Abuse Awareness Day and the

Nursing home abuse takes place when nursing assistants, caregivers or employees in a nursing facility intentionally does something that can cause harm to adults who are weak and vulnerable. There are many different forms of nursing home abuse. There are mainly sociological and cultural issues, and most cases of elder abuse are usually caused by several factors. Some of these factors are: quality of the nursing home and its staff, the features and personal issues of family and nursing assistants and caregivers are also fundamental in deciding the essential causes of the abuse. Therefore, social-cultural forces determine how elderly people are cared for and treated by others. By understanding all these different causes that

“Evidence suggests that one in 10 older adults experiences some form of elder abuse, but only one in 25 cases is reported to social services agencies” (Dong, 2012, p. 2151). Elder mistreatment can occur in a variety of settings including domestic and assisted living. Elder abuse includes psychological, physical, and sexual abuse; neglect to include both caregiver and self-neglect; and financial exploitation. With the vast explosion of the aging population in today’s society elder abuse can no longer loom in the shadows.

Are nursing homes abusing and neglecting the elderly? The elderly are abused and neglected in society today by caregivers in nursing homes. Elder abuse or neglect is a single or repeated action occurring within any relationship where there is an overlook of trust which causes injury or distress to an older person.

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

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.

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,

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