The causes of Nursing Home Abuse

Introduction

When cases of abuse in the nursing home are viewed on mass media , it is easy to see how viewers can instantaneously blame the cruelty that they are being witnessed to on the character of the nurse perpetrating the crime . However , Kellison (2006 ) reveals that the three primary reasons of nursing home abuse not only have something to do with nurses personal character but also with the current negative trends that are prevalent on nursing home administration . These reasons are caregivers stress inadequate staff and high turnover rate

Caregiver stress

p Nurses who get employed in nursing homes are often people with grave problems of their own (Kellison , 2006 . Current trends in human resources management have seen a lot of outsourcing for personnel in some third world countries such as the Philippines and India . The caregivers who are separated from their loved ones to work in the States usually suffer from depression and other psychological problems . This adds to the huge amount of stress due to the long hours and nature of work that they have to deal with

Inadequate staff

Kellison (2006 ) also reveals that current nursing homes in the country are understaffed by about 27 of optimal staffing conditions . This translates to more strenuous work distributed to a smaller number of people than a number that can comfortably get the job done . As a result this adds to feelings of unfairness on the part of caregivers which they may eventually diffuse on their charges in the form of violence

High turnover rate

Lastly , for-profit and high-occupancy nursing homes are found to have very high turnover rates for caregivers (Kellison 2006 . This means that a caregiver hardly stays in such nursing homes for over a year . This prevents them from actually creating lasting bonds with home residents This makes caregivers eventually consider residents not as aged individuals in need of loving care but as insensitive taskmasters who want to bully them around and so they bully them back

Conclusion

While of these reasons can be considered as an excuse to being physically or verbally violent to a nursing home resident , it nevertheless sheds light on factors that contribute to the prevalence of nursing home abuse . These factors may be prevented when proper corrective measures are studied and applied

Reference

Kellison , O (2006 . Current Trends and Issues in Caregiver Practice N .Y : McGraw Hill

The causes of Nursing Home Abuse ...