Blog #4 - Elderly Abuse

Nursing home abuse is a growing concern. Approximately 2.1 million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological, or other forms of abuse and neglect. It is concluded that elders who experience abuse, tend to die earlier that those who are not abused. Elder abuse is physical, emotional or physiological harm on an older adult. Physical abuse can be slapping, shoving and restraining with ropes and chains. When a caregiver uses force to cause pain or injury, even if the reason is to help the older person, the behavior can be regarded as abusive. Physical abuse included hitting, beating, pushing, kicking, pinching, burning, biting, over-or under medicating, withholding food, or exposing the person to severe weather conditions.


Emotional or psychological abuse can include name-calling, giving the silent treatment, insults and threats, treating the older person like a child, isolating the person from family, friends, and regular activities by force or threats or through manipulation. Abusive behavior is when a family member, a caregiver, or another person causes fear, mental anguish, and emotional pain or distress.


Sexual abuse is contact with an elderly person without the elder’s consent. This includes physical sex acts, showing pornographic pictures and forcing the elder to undress.


In every state physical, sexual and financial abuses among elders violate laws against assault, rape, theft, and other offenses are punishable as crimes. Most times elders do not report their abuse because they fear the outcome of it and also the fear that no one will want to take care of them, if they report the abuser. If the caregiver happens to be the elderly children then they feel ashamed to report the incidence because somehow they end up blaming themselves for the abuse, for example; they say if they were a better parent then this would not be happening to them.


Work Cited
http://www.geocities.com/~elderly-place/abuse.html

http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/abuse.html