...Elderly Abuse and Neglect The Problem: • Elderly abuse is a single or repeated act of inflicting physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, or financial harm to an elderly. Neglect is the failure of a career to provide the necessities of life to a person for whom they are caring. • Types of elder abuse: Elderly abuse can take many forms, the main ones are: Physical abuse: which is the physical act of violence that commonly includes slapping, hitting, and striking with objects. Psychological abuse: which is defined as an act that is carried out against the elderly adult with the intention of causing emotional pain or injury, and it often accompanies physical abuse. Examples include threats, insults, and statements that humiliate the elderly. Exploitation: which is the most common form of abuse of the elderly, it includes acts of material or financial exploitation, exploitation is the most difficult type of elderly abuse to diagnose as the victim may not be aware of its occurrence or may not know how to seek help. Neglect: which is counted as a form of abuse and is often referred to as failure of a caregiver in meeting the needs of the dependent elderly person. This may be intentional or unintentional neglect. Intentional neglect: is to willfully withhold food or medications or medical care from the elder that needs it. Unintentional neglect could result from ignorance or from genuine inability to provide care. For example, the caregiver may be unable...
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...Elderly Abuse and Neglect By Kenneth Barnes Herzing University Online W4A1 March 30, 20 According to “Merriam-Webster” sacrosanct is defined as most sacred inviolable: secure from assault or trespass, treated as holy: immune from criticism or violation. This is how we viewed our elderly in the past (particularly the eldest male) as patriarchs of the family these are the individuals that guided, shaped and molded our cultural and ethical knowledge. “Growing awareness of family violence, however, has shown this view to be faulty, first with the "discovery" of child neglect and abuse in the 1960s, followed by spouse abuse in the early 1970s, and elder neglect and abuse in the mid-1970s” (Hudson,2002). Fast forward to present day we find that these individuals are regarded as obsolete relics and are treated as such. An article in the Encyclopedia of Aging points out that elderly abuse has been in existence since the beginning of human history. Although violence varies from society to society and culture to culture the manner in which the elderly are subjected to this violence depends on that society or culture. In some cultures older adults are respected and honored while in others they are viewed as a burden. The latter lends itself to the abuse of the elderly. Early examples of elder neglect and abuse include adult sons killing their aged parents in Teutonic societies and Native American tribes abandoning their elders when they can no longer travel (Sumner). The article...
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... | Elderly Abuse and Neglect When discussing abuse and neglect we often think of children first. That being said, children are not the only ones who will be abused and/or neglected. In fact, this happens to some elderly as well. While some elderly may be productive enough to care for themselves, others are not. The end result is a complete (or close to complete) dependency on someone else for their needs. In addition, just like with children, this dependency can lead to abuse and/or neglect. There has been an increase in the number of elderly that have been subjected to violence and mistreatment. This type of treatment is associated with the individual’s dependency on others; whether it be a relative, acquaintance and/or institution (Meadows, 2010). According to estimates “between 1 and 2 million Americans aged 65 years or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for case or protection (National Research Council Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of elder abuse and neglect, 2003)” (Meadows, 2010, p. 87). The type of abuse that elderly get subjected to is not only physical, it may also be emotional. Obviously, abuse may take on many different forms and may include: financial abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. This abuse is not limited to certain circumstances it can happen in poor, middle-class or upper...
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...Elderly Population and the Advocate’s Role In human services, an advocate is someone who supports their client in their decisions regarding life and gives the client a voice to make a change. Very often when dealing with the elderly population, the problem of neglect and elder abuse arises. These wrongdoings are frequently the actions of the people closest to the victim including family members (Adult Children and Spouses) and caregivers. Human Service Advocates Human service professionals work with and are advocates for the elderly population for various reasons because the population is enlarging rapidly. Advocates are supposed to work hand in hand with their clients and spread awareness regarding elder abuse and neglect. The problem arises when advocates do not protect or advise their clients from abuse, neglect, and discrimination. If neglect is suspected, the human service professional (advocate) is obligated to report any signs but that sometimes does not happen because the professional themselves are the culprits. For instance, a human service professional may work in an adult daycare facility where elderly adults go during the day while their main caregivers are working. While there the elderly client may endure physical and verbal abuse from the professionals that work at the facility. This is way too common and if the people who are supposed to be advocates for their elderly clients are actually the people who are abusing them, then the clients are not...
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...Elder abuse and neglect among the elderly is one of the many challenges we face today. Elder mistreatment is a common, yet frequently ignored problem in our society. The elderly population is increasing dramatically. By the year, 00 demographic predictors say the population of 65+ will grow to 70 million, which represents a 100 percent increase over 0 years. So elderly abuse and neglect will continue to be serious problem in the United States. It is estimated that in the year 000 “11,000 Americans age 65 or older experienced a violent crime”. Elder abuse not only happens in institutional settings, but it is also appearing in domestic settings. The close, extended, and often times unsupervised visits that helpers have with patients has increasingly highlighted the need to protect elderly clients. Like any other form of abuse, elder abuse is a multifaceted problem, and it is easy for people to have misconceptions about it. When you hear the words “elder abuse and neglect” you often times think of elderly people sitting all alone in nursing homes with no visitors. But I have mentioned earlier that elder abuse is not just a problem of older people living in nursing homes, but it is right in our midst. Most of the incidents of elder abuse doesn’t happen in a nursing home setting. Often times there are reports of nursing home residents who are mistreated, but for the most part elder abuse takes place in the home. When elder abuse happens in the home it is usually done by a family...
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...Elderly Care Ethical issue Paper Oshein Robinson Abstract When we are talking about the word neglect or abuse it is usually associated with woman, children and or animals. We forget to think about elderly abuse, which is overlooked because there is plenty of elderly who can look after themselves and still be a valuable part of society, but we forget the ones who are not capable of that. This paper is about raising concern about the ethical issues of elderly being abused and mistreated. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Physical Abuse 5 PYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE 6 neglect & Financial ABUSE 6 Sexual abuse 6 scope of the problem 7 SOLUTION 8 Conclusion 8 Citations 10 Introduction Elder Abuse is any form of mistreatment that results in harm or loss to an older person, elder abuse can be divided into the categories of physical abuse which is physical force that results in any bodily injury or pain this can be assault battery, and inappropriate restraint. Psychological and or emotional abuse which is tearing down their self-esteem, and belittling them. Neglect which is just providing the necessities for everyday living such as food, shelter, health care or protection. Sexual abuse can also be elder abuse it is still non-consensual. Last there is exploitation which is illegal taking of senior benefits. Each year hundreds up to thousands of elders are abused, and neglected for many victims they cannot help themselves since they are older and frail. In...
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...reporting laws. The laws share a common goal and purpose, to protect children, the elderly, and spouse whose health and welfare is adversely affected through abuse and neglect. Every state is analogous in requiring responsible parties to report child, elderly and domestic abuse of any kind, physical neglect, medical neglect, verbal abuse, physical or emotional injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and inadequate supervision as well as financial exploitation. Although laws exist that mandate certain individuals, such as medical, and hospital personnel, social service workers, childcare workers and other professionals to report any type of abuse, every individual has an obligation under the law to report suspected child and elderly abuse. Though ethical dilemmas of reporting child and elderly abuse exist, these concerned are discussed and recommendations are integrated within the laws that subsist. The ethical duty of a human service professional is to act in the best interested of the children and elderly by safeguarding and reporting concern. A professional is to respect the integrity and welfare of the client at all times, respecting and protecting his or her right to privacy and confidentiality. However, when it is suspected that danger or harm may occur to the client the human service professional should act in the best manner to protect the safety of the client. Laws for child and elderly abuse exist to ensure that they are entitled to fair and equal treatment. Without...
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...Elder Neglect and Abuse The latter years of a person's life have been called the "golden years" unfortunately the numbers of elders being abused are growing each year. Gray-Vickrey (2001) reports that neglect occurs in 49 percent of substantiated elder abuse cases, emotional abuse is found in 35 percent of cases, financial abuse is found in 30 percent of cases, and physical abuse or use of physical force is found in 25 percent of cases. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates more than half a million of our nation’s elders are mistreated each year, of course the numbers may be three times higher since few cases of abuse are reported or investigated (Axmaker, 2003). Experts estimate the number of older adults who are mistreated annually at more than two million (Swagerty, 1999, p.2804). A U.S. National Elder Abuse Incidence Study confirmed that reported elder abuse cases are only the "tip of the iceberg" (National Center on Elder Abuse, 2003). The study also shown that two-thirds of the offenders were adult children or spouses. Additionally, elders are being abused in nursing homes, hospitals, or other institutions; in one study, 36 percent of nursing home staff stated that they had witnessed at least one physical abuse incident with an elderly patient (Nelson, 2002). Clearly, elder mistreatment or abuse of the elderly is a growing social occurrence. Unfortunately, our elder population is considered to be easy targets because they are perceived to be fragile and defenseless...
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...It can be stated that abuse can be conducted against the elderly when within the care of others. In this essay, I will be discussing the abuse, and the different types of mistreatment directed at the elderly in both care homes, and outside. I will be looking at what predicts elder abuse, the different types of abuse regarding some of the typologies made, the perpetrators involved, where it may occur, and the repercussions one may experience as an elder having been abused. Mistreatment can be defined as “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 persons who stands in a trust relationship to the elder” (Bonnie and Wallace, 2003, p.39.) The concept of ‘elder abuse’ is a moderately new idea although it has been occurring since the beginning of humanity, only having been focused on in Ireland since the 1980’s. Previously, it was primarily researched in the United States of America and the UK during the 1970’s. Nowadays there is more research done on elder abuse than ever before, as it is a growing topic of discussion, along with...
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...country today. Statistics are showing a high rate of abuse among the elderly population, with even more cases unreported. Unfortunately, elderly people are abused in our country on a daily basis. They are abused by their friends, relatives, and caregivers, either in their homes or assisted living facilities. It is quite difficult for people to understand how elderly people are being abused without knowing the cause, effects and solutions to the issue. The purpose of this paper is to help one understand what causes elder abuse, the effects it has, and possible solutions to the issue. This way we may completely understand and prevent it from happening. Elder Abuse can include physical or emotional abuse by the caregiver. The elderly are also exploited financially. Abuse may range from neglect, in which the caregiver does not provide adequate care related to ADL’s, to more severe forms such as physical/sexual abuse. Understanding what elder abuse entails is important. It will help to identify the issue and prevent the person from becoming another statistic; which will also help prevent abuse of elderly people in the future. It’s inevitable that we ourselves and our family members will all grow older. In understanding this, there are many decisions to be made. Among one of the most difficult and perhaps most important decisions is where the elder person will live and how long-term care needs will be met. When the elderly person in our lives is no longer capable of performing self-care...
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...In this article, Abusing the abused? The double whammy of elder abuse and neglect. It discusses a lot about social worker’s roles. As social workers, we are obliged to critically examine services for older people in general and those designed. Furthermore, the developed, organized and delivered to address the elder abuse and neglect. This examination needs to explore if and how ageism, consciously or unconsciously, underscores social work practice. The main goal is to design services by commitment to support and empower the elderly. However, when the typical interventions in elder abuse and neglect cases are reviewed, outcomes for elderly people have tended towards their removal and placement in institutional care, either long term or short...
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...Vulnerable Population: Elderly population NUR/440 July 11, 2011 Anavictoria Fortaleza Vulnerable Population and Self-Awareness Paper The Elderly Population According to Chesnay (2008) “vulnerable populations are those with greater than average risk of developing health problems by virtue of their marginalized sociocultural status, their limited access to economic resources or personal characteristics such as gender or age. Anyone can be vulnerable at any given point in time as a result of life circumstances or response to illness or events” (p 3-4). For the last few decades, society and government have put a great deal of concern and interest on the aging population. The number of elderly population in the United States is rapidly increasing. The US population under the age of 65 tripled during the 20th century. This number is to double by the middle of next century. Over 70 million American citizens will be considered elderly by 2030, or about 20% of the population will be senior citizen (Walsh, 2009). The growing numbers are attributed to aging “Baby Boomers” and increasing life expectancies. Disability and disease are more common in elderly population such as hip fractures, parkinson’s disease, malnutrition, cardivovascular disease and malignant cancer. More than 70% of the elderly population has been diagnosed with a chronic disease (Pishchita, 2007). According to CDC, arthritis is the leading cause of disability among individuals over 65 years of age and 47% of...
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...themselves, we will examine possible causes that lead them to their cruel behavior. We will also address how the maltreatment of helpless victims falls into two classifications, abuse and neglect, and they both can be physical and/or emotional in nature. These theories will be compared and contrasted as we investigate the characteristics of caretakers involved in the abuse and neglect of children, the elderly, and folks with special needs. Comparing and Contrasting Caretaker Theories Most perpetrators who abuse children, the elderly, and special needs individuals are caretakers who have been entrusted with the tending to of those who are unable to care for themselves. Many are usually either family members or someone well known to the victim (Daigle, 2013). The maltreatment of the helpless falls into two classifications, abuse and neglect, and they both can be physical and/or emotional in nature (Malley-Morrison & Hines, 2004). The three theories in regards to maltreatment that we will be discussing here fall into three common categories and they are: a) Sociocultural explanations b) Social learning c) Intra-individual theory. These theories will be compared and contrasted as we explore the characteristics of caretakers involved in the abuse and neglect of children, the elderly, and folks with special needs. Social Learning Theory According to social learning theory, abusive conduct is a learned behavior usually perpetrated by...
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...Formal Analysis 1) The impact that my grandparents have made in my life has influenced me to make working with the elderly a career. 2) The elderly are an ever so rapidly growing population and there is a need for professionals in the geriatric field. 3) The many issues that accompany the elderly are a growing concern of mine. 4) I believe that caring for the elderly is one of the most challenging and exciting areas of health care. Therefore, I have chosen Geriatric Social Work as a career objective. “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” ~John Bunyan I believe that we were given two hands, one to help ourselves and one to help others. As an aspiring social worker, I have learned that helping others who cannot sufficiently help themselves is one of the main objectives of the profession. My career objectives upon graduation include being a social worker in a hospital, care facility or an agency focused on helping families but specifically the elderly. The impact that my grandparents have made in my life has influenced me to make working with the elderly a career. The elderly are an ever so rapidly growing population and there is a need for professionals in the geriatric field. The many issues that accompany the elderly are a growing concern of mine. I believe that caring for the elderly is one of the most challenging and exciting areas of health care. This is why I have chosen Geriatric Social Work as...
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...Running head: Elderly Abuse 1 Elderly Abuse: A Growing Concern 30 March 2012 Elderly Abuse 2 English Composition 101 30 March 2012 The signs of elderly abuse, at least to some degree, have always existed. Only in the past few decades, has it been recognized as a major societal problem. Greater attention to elder abuse was followed by the new “discovery” of child abuse in the 1960s and spouse abuse in the 1970s. Today elderly abuse is widely characterized as both a pervasive problem and a growing concern (Dessin, 2000; Heisler, 2000; Moskowitz, 1998b). Out of the elderly population around 1 out 2 million people over the age of 65 have been injured, or mistreated by someone they depend on for care. Abuse and neglect can happen in any social class; it does not matter if you are upper middle, or lower class. The most common mistreatment and neglect occur in nursing homes. Studies have found 1 out 5 nursing homes are liable for serious life threatening care given to the elderly. Caregiver at these homes are known for emotional, and neglect. Elderly abuse remained on a constant rise so much they had to create policies to protect the elderly. In 1976, the Older American Act of 1965 was amended. The purpose of the bill was to provide assistance and develop better programs to help elderly. There was a study conducted in 1986 that found nursing homes were still giving inadequate care. Congress passed the Nursing...
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