Hazel is a senior citizen who lives in an assisted living facility. Recently, her hand-eye coordination has made it difficult for her to feed herself. Her assisted living facility’s occupational therapist gives her a device that will strap her utensils to her wrist to make it easier to hold them, and while Hazel is grateful for the device she having difficulty using it. In response to her problems, her therapist calls her names and is aggressive with her, causing Hazel shame and distress. While this situation is fictional, real senior citizens around the country face mistreatment by staff in nursing home or assisted living settings. The potential for mistreatment and abuse of elders is a major ethical issue in the field of occupational therapy. …show more content…
Many occupational therapists work with elderly people. While various populations of individuals experience abuse, The National Institute on Aging recognizes six different types of abuse inflicted onto elderly people. The first type of abuse recognized is physical abuse, which is described as “bodily harm by hitting, pushing, or slapping”. While this type of abuse is important, it is certainly not the only kind. Emotional or psychological abuse involves verbally degrading, threatening, or yelling at a person, as well as ignoring them. Ignoring the individual could also fall under neglect, which is the next type of abuse listed. Neglect and abandonment go hand-in-hand, with abandonment being the more extreme version of the two. Neglect is ignoring an elderly person’s needs, while abandonment is described as leaving the person alone without planning for their care. The fifth kind of abuse is sexual abuse, in which a person is forced to watch or partake in sexual acts. The final kind of abuse is financial abuse, in which money or items are stolen from the elderly individual (“Elder Abuse”). These six types of abuse each have their own unique ways of affecting elderly individuals, but in the end they are all harmful at best and lethal at …show more content…
Who is at risk? What are the signs of elder abuse? A 2017 study found that over the course of a year, 15.7% of adults over the age of 60 experienced some form of abuse (Yon et al.). Although this is likely underestimated, 15.7% (or 1 in 6) individuals over the age of 60 experiencing abuse is a staggering statistic. Furthermore, The World Health Organization states that 40% of nursing home staff members admitted to psychologically abusing patients, and 10% admitted to physically abusing a patient (“Elder Abuse Fact Sheet”). There are several risk factors for being a victim of elder abuse. The National Center on Elder Abuse says that individuals that are dependent on others to survive, individuals with dementia, women, low-income individuals, and individuals in larger households were all more likely to experience one or more types of elder abuse (“Statistics/Data”). This is not to say that everyone in one of those categories is being abused, but recognizing that these groups are at risk can help is identifying elder abuse. Identifying elder abuse can be difficult depending on the type of abuse. The National Institute on Aging states that abused elders may have trouble sleeping, become depressed, confused, agitated, or violent, become withdrawn and stop participating in activities they normally enjoy, have unexplained bruises or scars, or have an unkempt or messy appearance (“Elder
The issue of elder abuse and neglect is a significant health care issue, that need to be brought to the attention of society. Seniors who stay at home or in nursing homes are at more risk. Nurses should be aware of the signs and symptoms as well as resources in the community. By having a better understanding of these issues, nurses can recognize problems and help prevent the devastating effects of elderly abuse.
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.
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.
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).
Elder abuse is commonly unheard of and may be initially associated with more relatable forms of abuse such as physical, sexual or psychological abuse (Patterson, 2017). However, elder abuse encompasses physical, psychological, sexual, financial, self-neglect and neglectful organised care (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2016a). Furthermore, older adults are at risk if they are socially isolated, discriminated against, afraid, have impaired cognitive function, dementia and impaired judgement or insight (Johannesen & LoGiudice, 2013). Additionally, carer factors contribute to the risk of older adult abuse such as the carer’s psychological state, socioeconomic strain and mental illness (Johannesen & LoGiudice, 2013).
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
All too often, people in nursing homes are abused by those who are entrusted with their care. In fact, 44 percent of the 2,000 nursing home residents interviewed in one study said that they had been abused, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse. While not all elder mistreatment in nursing homes can be prevented, there are things that people can do to help
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,
Nursing home abuse is a difficult issue to face however ignoring it can trigger serious emotional, physical and mental issues. Many victims of elder abuse are frail and vulnerable. As such, knowing the warning signs and red flags of such abuse can help us protect the health and wellbeing of your loved one. There are a number of warning signs that when coupled together can be especially worrisome. Particularly:
Abuse. Oftentimes when hearing this word, one's mind may automatically assume the situation involves a child or a romantic relationship; what some may not consider is the abuse of elderly members of the community, specifically in nursing homes. The form of misconduct that nursing home employees administer towards patients is in no way less significant than any other forms. The underpaid workers of state or federally funded facilities can be negligent towards patients. Negligence of this form can include, but is not limited to, improper medication management, isolation, malnutrition, dehydration, and anything resulting in the form of physical or mental suffering. Nursing homes must begin to properly staff, train, pay, and reduce the number of
As I did my research I had noticed that there are multiple risk factors that contribute to elder abuse and neglect such as the individual who is taking care of the elder individual has experienced abuse as a child, inadequate coping skills, caregiver role strain and so forth (CDC 2017). On a daily basis many accounts of elder abuse goes unnoticed for so long, it takes a well-trained individual to discover elder abuse. The same patient on the floor that has that one caregiver who is always attentive to their care may also be the one who is struggling to take care of the patient as well as themselves and that alone can turn into an abusive situation
To begin, abuse in nursing homes can happen in many different areas of the patient’s life. An elderly patient can be abused emotionally, sexually, financially, physically, and can be neglected. Some of these abuses begin to occur when the elderly patient becomes more physically frail, and they are less able to stand up against threats and bullying. The other abuses begin, when the patient is no longer able to take care of his/her own finances.
Neglect of patients may include: medical neglect, neglect of basic needs, neglect of personal hygiene, and social or emotional neglect. Not all patients at nursing homes are completely immobile or require constant attention, but, for others, constant care is crucial. Since some seniors have mobility, mental, hearing and vision limitation, senior caregiving creates opportunities for caregivers to take advantage, whether it be intentional or accidental. Up to half a million cases of elder abuse are taken to authorities each year and these are only the reported ones. It is estimated that there may be millions of unreported nursing home abuses and home care abuses every year (“Comprehensive and Unbiased Info”). Some cases are undocumented because
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
Many abused cases of elderly have been found out in care facilities. A news on fox17online.com reports that an assisted living aide abused an elderly woman by throwing shoes and water at the victim and calling her phone repeatedly. It is the physical abuse that directly affecting to elder health: Another situation of physical abuse is in Los Angeles, a 74 year-old woman was stricken on