Paper Topic:

elderly abuse

p Elderly Abuse

Elderly Abuse in Modern Society

The abuse of the elderly is an issue that has recently become an issue for concern for people working in the social services community . Unlike domestic violence or child abuse until recently there has been little if any organized intervention available for abused elders . The majority of the American populace has remained unaware of the prevalence of this problem , and as a result many elderly people continue to be abused and or neglected by the people who should be working to protect them . An

br increasing population of elderly people who are reliant on the care of spouses , children and nursing homes for primary care increases the likelihood that a person over 60 will experience some type of abuse when they are no longer able to care for themselves

Elder abuse can be defined as physical , sexual , emotional or financial abuse of the elderly . Abandonment by caregivers , or self-neglect are also included in the definition of elder abuse . This abuse can include abuse by a persons spouse , children , or other primary caregivers . Many agencies also include self-neglect due to depression and loneliness as elder abuse since they are often neglected by friends and family According to statistics from the World Health Organization between four and six percent of the elderly population worldwide is currently living in an abusive situation

In reality , the percentage is much higher than this as these statistics only reflect incidences where the abuse was reported to social welfare agencies . Many elderly people never report the abuse and their experiences are not reflected in statistics

Risk Factors for Elder Abuse

According to a 1998 report by The Administrations for Families and Children , The Administration on Aging and the U .S . Department of Health and Human Services there were nearly 500 ,000 reports of elder abuse in the United States alone . More than 70 ,000 of these reports were legitimized by state , or federal agencies and moved on to court action The Administrations for Families and Children et al (1998 ) have defined several key risk factors that act as the defining features of elder abuse (pp15

The primary risk factor for elder abuse is gender . Females over the age of 60 are much more likely to become victims of elder abuse than men of the same age . Race also plays a factor since eight out of every 10 victims of elder abuse is Caucasian . According to the World Health Organization (2002 , socio-cultural factors can also have a great deal to do with the high incidence of elder abuse . The elderly are often isolated from their children and grandchildren . They also have limited discretionary income and may not have the financial means of escaping an abusive situation . The elderly are also particularly at risk for financial abusers who take advantage of isolation from family and loneliness in to defraud the elderly out of money and property Finally , elderly citizens are at risk of elder abuse when they are ill or disabled and...

7 pages

39.0 KB

Free sing-up