Nursing Home Abuse

Choosing a long-term care facility can be very difficult because of incidents of abuse and/or neglect reported against care facilities can be overwhelming. For example in “Ending Elder Abuse: A family guide”, Diane Sandell lists many elder abuse incidents from her files such as: neglect of decubitis ulcers led to infection, sepsis, gangrene, and death. Facility failed to provide necessary diabetic diet; improper insulin administration, insulin overdose; dehydration and death. Resident left alone in chair in shower room fell, became paralyzed from neck down. Many reports of pinching, rough handling, slapping, yelling, threats (2000). It is believed that abuse is most likely to occur if the caregiver not only finds the work difficult but also (1) works full time, (2) cares for young children, (3) is poor, (4) feels little affection for the older person, (5) finds the elderly person very difficult, and (6) gets no support or help from others (Macionis, 2005). Although there is no excuse for abusing elderly Americans, it is still very prominent in today’s society. Diane Sandell explains in Ending Elder Abuse, that her 91 year old mother was beaten by a long-term care facility employee in the middle of the night for reasons unknown. It is stated that her mother died 6 weeks after the incident, unable to recover mentally from the abuse (2000).

Anyone can abuse a nursing home resident from their nurses to their own family members. There has only one been national study to try to explain who abuses residents more, according to the NCEA(2011), and at approximately 90% of them were abused by family members. Just as well abuse can occur anywhere from their own houses to nursing homes. According to a study from 2000, 2,000 residents were polled and 44% of them stated they had been abused. Other research from the NCEA states that persons with dementia are at a much higher risk for abuse. A study that had been conducted in 2010 revealed that 47% of elderly with dementia had been abused. Abuse definitely takes an impact on these people. Statistics, again from NCEA, have shown that elders who have been abused have a 300% higher risk of death over those not abused. They also have many more psychological and medical problems than a non-abused person.

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

Other at-risk groups include people who are socially isolated and people with mental impairments or dementia. While protecting the victim is of the utmost importance, it is vital to not forget the abuser because they are affected as well. Since most abuse happens at home by family members, that is who I am referring to as the abuser. The stresses of caregiving can be overwhelming. While elder abuse is never an acceptable response to any problem, no matter how stressful, many people who are thrust into the role of caregiving can find themselves ill-equipped for it. At its most innocent stage, a caregiver 's unintentional failure to provide proper care and support because of a lack of understanding or lack of skills is abusive behavior that can threaten the safety and well-being of the older adult, but instead of them being penalized it may be more productive to educate them.

According to Statistic Brain, 91 percent of nursing homes currently lack the staff needed to properly care for their residents and 36 percent have violated elderly abuse laws one or more times. Abuse comes in many forms, with neglect being the most common, accounting for 58.5 percent of cases. Physical abuse, financial exploitation, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and other abuse types have also been reported, thus individuals with a loved one in a nursing home need to ensure they are receiving proper care at all times. In the event something does go wrong and the nursing home and/or its staff members are responsible, a nursing home abuse attorney should be contacted immediately.

This paper will give exposure to many known causes and treatment, analyze current and past data outlining the potential rise in abuse of the elderly population and present possible solutions that potentially reduce identified trends and assist in the reduction of elderly mistreatment.

Abuse in Nursing Homes can vary between physical and emotional, verbal, sexual, and neglect. In some cases can even be catastrophic by causing death. The medical personnel that work these facilities are highly trained, so what are causing these problems one may ask? Most medical facilities are understaffed and have a high rate of

As individuals become older they lose the ability to fight back when they are bullied or attacked. They are more prone to abuse because they have become physically frail and may not see or hear as well as they could before. This leaves openings for their relatives, friends, or even the caregivers at care facilities more opportunities to take advantage of them. Elder abuse most often takes place where the senior resides. The abusers are usually their family members, such as their adult children, grandchildren, or spouse. “Abusers who are elders themselves may suffer from dementia or other problems that render them less able to care for dependent elders and more likely to abuse those elders” (Ferguson p.618).

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,

The author made a compelling case for the meaning and significance of the study findings. The author increased the knowledge regarding how the criminal justice system responds to the cases of elder abuse in nursing homes and the failure to report abuse. However, the study results showed that the implications include the need for broader penalties and the increase of training of human services professionals.

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

However, the most common relationship portrayed was between the health care provider and the resident in the long term care facility (Byrne et al., 2009; Chappell & Hollander, 2013;Charpentier & Soulières, 2013;Engers & Stern, 2002; LI & Jensen, 2011;Ross et al., 1998 Schiamberg et., al, 2011;Stevens et al., 2013). Recent studies have concluded, that residents depend greatly on their health care providers for, protection, health care needs and safety (Byrne et al., 2009; Chappell & Hollander, 2013;Charpentier & Soulières, 2013;Engers & Stern, 2002; Li & Jensen, 2011). Engers & Stern (2002), Li & Jensen (2011) and Schiamberg et., al ( 2011) researches states, the stronger the relationship and dependency residents have with their nurses the less likely physical or verbal abuse will occur. The more protection and attention residents receive from their caregivers benefits their quality of life as well as decreasing the chances for mistreatment (Engers & Stern, 2002, Li & Jensen, 2011).

The negative impact of elder abuse first and foremost has a negative impact on the individual. Individuals can endure many types of abuse including physical, emotional, and financial and this can lead to unfavorable consequences for the individual. Most elders experience physical abuse. “In Canada 45 percent of reported cases of elder abuse concerned physical abuse.” Physical abuse poses one of the most threatening impacts because it produces negative health effects, such as heart problems, broken bones or limbs, and high blood pressure. Physical abuse has a considerable impact on people at any age, but elders can specifically be more vulnerable and the impact can hit much harder than normal. Elderly people have less physical resilience than people who are younger and the injuries they may take longer to heal. The

Neglect is the abandonment that the elder may feel when the caretaker is not fulfilling their obligations. Neglect includes not providing food, water, clothing, medications and assistance with daily activities such as personal hygiene. Some elderly also suffer from unintentional neglect due to a lack of understanding of their needs. An example of this is the caregiver may not provide a safe environment if they fail to realize there are rugs and poor lighting on stairs can be a hazard to elderly people. Or the caregiver may not know the nutritional requirements of the person in their care and may not provide him or her with the proper food. In a CNN report 12% of elders died in a nursing home due to neglect. Neglect can also be not paying the bills for the older person, if the care giver is responsible for paying their bills. The lack of paying the elder person bills is also another type of abuse which is called financial abuse and exploitation. The caregiver can use the older person personal funds or government funded money to satisfy their own needs and leave the elder with no money and in debt.

In many cases, nursing home abuse and neglect may not even be evident in any physical form. We all know that emotional abuse often has no physical scars but can leave massive scars on the inside. There may be situations where the behavior of the nursing home resident changes but even this can be overlooked by family and friends as they may dismiss such change to old age or diseases like dementia or Alzheimer’s.