What Are Elder Abuse?

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, elder abuse is a term referring to any knowing, intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable

Elder Abuse, a type of domestic violence, is a under recognized problem within the United States and West Virginia. Elder abuse is the intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or trusted loved ones that leads to or might lead to the harm of a vulnerable elder (National Center on Elder Abuse, 2012). Throughout the United States elder abuse is on the rise because there are more baby boomers and not enough health care professionals that specialize in elder care or family members that want to take on the responsibility of an elder.

Physical abuse – involves causing deliberate physical harm to a child and may include burning, drowning, hitting, poisoning, scalding, shaking, suffocating or throwing. Physical abuse also includes deliberately causing, or fabricating the symptoms of, ill health in a child.

Physical abuse is an act of another party involving contact intended to cause feelings of physical pain, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.

Physical abuse of the elderly occurs when a carer harms the individual or places them in danger. A carer may be a family member or someone who is responsible for taking caring of them. The carer may hit, slap, kick, push, burn, or force feed the elderly person and these are all considered to be signs of physical abuse. They may also give the wrong amount or even the wrong medicine to the elderly person. Physical abuse also includes sexual abuse; when someone has sexual contact with an individual without their consent.

Sexual abuse refers to sexual contact of any kind without permission neglect is not providing food, health care, shelter or anything needed to live for vulnerable elder persons. Illegal taking or misuse of the elder’s property is called exploitation. Emotional abuse is the humiliation, threatening, or insulting (verbally or nonverbally) of an elder. Deserting of a vulnerable elder by a person who is responsible for them is called abandonment.

According to the American Psychological Association there are seven types of elders abuse. Physical, sexual, emotional, financial/material exploitation, neglect, abandonment, and self-neglect (APA, 2017).

Elder Abuse is often a silent crime that involves the mistreatment or exploitation of an elderly person. This is a very important issue for the State of Florida to be concerned with since the state is very popular for retirement age people due to good weather and low taxes . As the elderly population grows in the Sunshine State, so does this incident rate for elder abuse cases. Elder abuse can manifest itself in many ways such as physical abuse, hitting, beating, pushing or really anything that will hurt or harm a person. Mental abuse such as, verbal attacks, isolation from other loved ones, threats to their well being. Financial abuse such as, spending funds without permission or having them sign their assets over without full comprehension

The World Health Organization (2014) defines elder abuse as, “a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person” (World Health Organization, 2014). Elder abuse violates various ethical principles. First, the abuse disregards the individual’s autonomy. He or she is not choosing whether or not to be injured (Rueckert-Harman

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines abuse towards seniors as, "a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person" (World Health Organization, 2017). The mistreatment of elders can take on

Elder abuse includes; physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, caregiver neglect, and financial exploitation (Dong & Simon, 2013). Elder abuse has a greater chance of occurring when the older adult is emotionally, physically, and cognitively impaired (Tabloski, 2010). Older adults who are abused,

The ramifications of elder abuse are serious and varied. Although physical abuse is often talked about, emotional, sexual, verbal and financial abuse are also prevalent. Elder abuse differs from other forms of abuse mainly because many seniors also have financial assets. These assets which may include homes, bank accounts and credit cards make seniors easy prey to unscrupulous and dishonest people. On many occasions seniors fall victim to individuals that they trust and need to continue to live in their homes. These people may be their children, grandchildren, other family members or hired caregivers. This abuse can go unnoticed because the senior no longer goes out into community on a regular basis. They may have lost many friends and associates

According to Why Does It Happen, elders abuse happened because caring for an older person is a very difficult and stress-provoking task. It is difficult to take care older ones because the caregivers may not know what the elders want. And in common sense, many of the elders cannot speak and they are having a hard time speaking, therefore, it

Medical and technological advancements enable elders to live longer lives than ever before, yet the impact of elder abuse continues to threaten the quality of life of the elderly population. Elder abuse is now becoming a prevalent problem in our society, and this problem is often overlooked and ignored making elder abuse one of the most unreported crimes in the country. Elder abuse is extremely complex like any other type of domestic violence and because there are many elements that contribute to this problem, the impact of elder abuse is much deeper than it may appear on the surface. Elder abuse has a negative impact on the individual, the family, and society.

Child abuse and neglect is routinely seen in the news media or newspaper, but what about elderly abuse? You rarely hear about elderly abuse however, it is occurring in United States. According to NH Abuse Guide (2016) one in every three geriatric facilities have reported abuse that was likely to lead to serious harm. Just like children, the elderly population is vulnerable and are at risk of abuse. According to the NCEA (2012) 2,000 nursing home residents were surveyed and results showed that 44% said they have been abused in some manner and 95% stated they were neglected or saw another resident neglected.