The Neglect and Abuse of the Elderly

Unfortunately, many residents in nursing homes today are being starved, dehydrated, over-medicated, and suffer painful sores. Often times they are isolated, ignored, and deprived from social contact and stimulation. Care givers are often overworked and grossly underpaid which often results in them showing rude and abusive behavior to the residents. “Studies have found that individuals in poor health are more likely to be abused than individuals who are in relatively good health. In addition, caregivers who are dependent on the elder financially are also more likely to perpetrate abuse” (De Benedictis, 2011). A simple request for such things as water or an escort to the bathroom may cause the care giver to respond in a rude and offensive way demonstrating inappropriate behavior. According to an article written by Bryan Robinson (2002), “Helen Love, a 75-year-old grandmother of three, looked into the video camera and told of being severely beaten by a nursing home caregiver who discovered she had soiled herself. He choked me and he went and broke my neck," said Love, who had to wear a metal halo in the videotaped deposition from July 1998. “He broke my wrist bones, in my hand. He put his hand over my mouth.” Two days later, Love died.

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

Do you have a loved one in a nursing home? Imagine if your grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, mom, dad or other loved one was being abused. How would this make you feel? Abuse does not necessarily mean physical abuse (hitting, scratching, pulling hair, etc.). Other types of abuse include sexual, neglect, exploitation, emotional, abandonment, and self-neglect.

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 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

The aging population is the fastest growing population in our nation. By the year 2030, it is estimated that approximately 61 million people will be between the ages 65 -85 and 9 million individuals will be ages 85 and older (Ouchida &Lachs, 2015). Perceptions of the elderly have slightly changed for the better in recent years, but biases and discrimination are still very widespread in our society today. “Ageism” is a phrase coined by Robert Butler in 1969 and implies a preconception, prejudice, and discrimination against older adults and can come in many forms.

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).

One way elder abuse or elder mistreatment can be defined is, “intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm, whether or not intended, to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder” (Bonnie & Wallace). There are seven main forms of elder abuse which include emotional, physical, psychological, sexual, financial, neglect, abandonment, and self-neglect (Cohen, Levin, Gagin & Friedman, 2007; Fulmer, 2008; Thompson & Priest, 2005). Even though only 6.2% of victims are abused in long-term care settings, my experience of witnessing neglect and abandonment are very serious (Teaster et al., 2006).

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 mistreatment is a serious problem in America, yet it often overlooked. Elder abuse is defined as abuse in older adults that includes, but isn’t limited to physical, emotional, financial or sexual abuse. It is a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm. It is often misunderstood and dismissed as just a family matter when in fact, that is the least common source of cruelty amongst the elders. According to the National council of aging, 1 in 10 Americans aged 60 and older have experienced some form of abuse. Some estimates range as high as 5 million elders who are reportedly abused yearly.

The news is flooded with stories of negative acts of racism, along with arguments regarding sexism and stereotypical gender roles. While major steps have been taken toward a more unified, accepting country, the United States continues to still lack correct knowledge and understanding to one of the most common “isms” in the country: ageism. Ageism is defined in Aging, the Individual, and Society as “the prejudiced behavior of individuals and systems within the culture against older adults, including negative consequences of inaccurate stereotyping of the elderly” (Hillier & Barrow, 2015, p.11). As a result of prejudice, myths tend to form about the stereotyped group of people. Facts and Fiction about an Aging America by The MacArthur Foundation

As our population ages there are more individuals who are relying on the assistance and the care from others in order to perform tasks throughout their day. With this reliance on other individual’s assistance the elderly population is at an increased rate of experiencing a form of abuse from their caregiver. Children or a spouse are often found to be the abuser for elderly individuals who are still living in the community setting (DeLiema, Navarro, Enguidanos, &Wilber, 2015). This is becoming a growing concern, as it is estimated that around 10% of the United States elderly population is currently or has experiences at least one form of abuse. The forms of abuse that can occur include physical, sexual, psychological or emotional, financial

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

A way in which nurses can bring more positive outcomes towards this social injustice is to reduce the stigma that comes along with ageism by taking responsibility and providing recommendations to our society. Many need to be educated on the problem of elder abuse, and one way of doing so is to identify the problem of abuse and not contribute to its ageist factors. It is important for nurses to properly diagnose the abuse upon initial screening, know when to refer patients to additional assessment and know how to use community/institutional resources effectively based on each individual case (Imbody and Vansburger, 2011). Another factor that is of utmost importance is to be competent when dealing with those affect by elder abuse directly and indirectly. Competent nurses can offer their best practice for the abused patient when using the proper research; collaborations with other professionals; professional training with therapeutic technique and crisis prevention; removing all ageist paradigms and mindsets found in culture and society (Imbody and Vansburger, 2011). Unfortunately, as there are still increased research gaps to understanding abuse of older adults, nurses must take initiative when dealing with patients and be thorough as well as use the appropriate assessment tools and strategies (Gutman and Yon,

This is a society of isms, racism, sexism, and ageism. It labels, stereotypes, and categorizes people, by shape, size, color, and age. The elderly in their later years should be able to have a peaceable life, treated with dignity and respect. However, pretty much anyone under the age of 50 is a target for an attack of an attitude of ageism at some point. Those who do the disrespecting don’t stop to consider that at some point, they will also be at the receiving end of that attitude.” (Webb)