StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Abuse of the Elderly - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
In the paper “Abuse of the Elderly” the author discusses elder abuse and neglect as a serious issue in which the healthcare worker can see something and say something about it.  They can also report to authorities and also communicate with family members…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.2% of users find it useful
Abuse of the Elderly
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Abuse of the Elderly"

Abuse of the Elderly Introduction  Elder abuse and neglect is a serious issue in which the healthcare worker can see something and say something about it. They can also report to authorities and also communicate with family members, providing support not just to the elderly individual, but also to the whole family system they are a part of. Care workers can also help to ease tensions that may occur when family members need to provide for the healthcare of a relative in their later life stages, and also advocate for independence and decision making. They can also look out for signs of elder abuse. Abuse and neglect are too often visited upon older individuals who have lost some degree of their independence, and many areas do not have the programs necessary to effectively counter this threat on the community level. There is even abuse and neglect that goes on with healthcare facilities, nursing homes, and home environments, and this is perhaps the most insidious sort of abuse. In some cultures, the elderly are prized and honored above all other citizens and groups, but unfortunately this is not the case in the present culture. Elder abuse can happen in healthcare or nursing home situations, or it could happen at the hands of the elder’s own family and support system. Background  In the US today, older individuals are more likely to be seen as being in the way of the young than as role models who should be exalted because of their aged wisdom. Presently, however, many individuals are treated harshly by healthcare facilities and even their own kin, making elder abuse a significant problem in society. Also, in terms of economic scales, older individuals who are of a lower socio-economic class are more likely to be abused or mistreated. These people may lack a stable caregiver. There are those who say the aged should be used as models who should be exalted because of their aged wisdom. Presently, however, many individuals are treated harshly by healthcare facilities and even, as the proposed report will show, their own families and support systems, making elder abuse a significant problem in society. “Elder maltreatment is not a new entity but is one that is recently recognized as a widespread and growing social problem” (Welsh and Morgenlander, 1999). It is common and insidious in home care as well as nursing home settings. There are many signs to watch out for. “Unfortunately, few physicians are trained to recognize the different forms of elder maltreatment including physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect” (Welsh and Morgenlander, 1999). Increased training procedures could help to solve the problem. “The elder, age 65 years or older, is also a unique individual with respect to pathophysiology. The natural changes of aging must be considered when assessing any physical or laboratory findings” (Welsh and Morgenlander, 1999). In other words, abuse may be more difficult to find and quantify in elders. Signs of abuse  In some cases among the elders, the abuse is not as clearly defined as in some other cases; however, abuse is abuse; that is, it is abuse to hold back an elder through tactics of restraint through medication, just as it is abuse to perpetrate outright physical, sexual, or psychological abuse against them. Abuse and neglect are too often visited upon older individuals who have lost some degree of their independence, and many areas do not have the programs necessary to effectively counter this threat. As noted, the abuse and neglect that goes on within healthcare facilities, is perhaps the most insidious sort of abuse. In the scenario dealt with by this paper, the abuse can also go on in a home situation, however. “Elder maltreatment is not a new entity but is one that is recently recognized as a widespread and growing social problem” (Colins, 2006). As a social problem, elder abuse can be defined in many ways. For example, there is passive neglect, a very common and poorly addressed problem in the present; sometimes caregivers keep the elderly in a state of medicated sedation in order to keep them quiet and uncomplaining. This isn’t emotional abuse, which is also a serious problem that may carry psychological ramifications for older individuals, and should be met with an appropriate type of treatment such as family counseling or structural therapy; the person in this case is not not mean or spiteful, or may not seem to be, and they may seem to have a stable relationship. So often, caregivers are guilty of giving a client permission to physically abuse the elderly through over-medication. This type of abuse is not as easy to see as physical abuse, but it is in the same classification. “Physical abuse is generally considered the most extreme form of elder maltreatment. 16 Such physical abuse includes slapping, blunt force trauma, bites, pinching, traumatic alopecia, burns and scalds, force feeding, overmedication, undermedication, and improper medication, and improper use of physical restraints” (Collins, 2006). This author also goes on to note that “Physical abuse accounts for up to 14% of all elder trauma and results in death more frequently than in younger patients” (Collins, 2006). That is the bottom line of this situation hope that solutions can be brought to the problem of elder abuse holistically an in a manner that helps everyone involved. One must also remember that neglect is definitely a form of abuse. Although most people concentrate almost exclusively on abuse and neglect that occurs inside of healthcare facilities, the outside home environment is also a problem that needs to be addressed. Workers at facilities for older individuals need to realize that elder abuse will not be tolerated in any way shape or form, and will result in definite punitive action, because it is against the law. There may be signs of improper turning of the patient or bedsores. There may be improper use of restraints. “While the Nursing Home Reform Act did not prohibit the use of restraints entirely, it did set up strict guidelines and parameters that must be met before the use of restraints are considered appropriate. This legislation has dramatically lowered injurious restraining incidents since it began to be enforced in 1990” (Improper, 2006). In terms of profile, it is important to remember that, as noted above, another goal of the proposed report is to focus on physical abuse, while still paying attention to other forms of abuse and neglect. “Physical abuse is an act carried out with the intention of causing physical pain or injury” (Colero, 2003). Elders can in many cases in healthcare facilities or home situations, certainly be the victims of “accidental, noninflicted trauma. Such trauma includes abrasions and contusions over bony prominences and long bone and vertebral fractures” (Colero, 2003). However, if there are cuts and bruises or abrasions in unnatural areas for common stumbles, or frequent black eyes, this is a different story: “Worrisome traumatic injuries include those to areas not commonly impacted during daily activities or even secondary to accidental trauma” (Colero, 2003). They can also look out for signs of elder abuse. “The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 stated, among other things, that: The resident has the right to be free from any physical or chemical restraints imposed for purposes of discipline or convenience, and not required to treat the resident's medical symptoms” (Perception, 2003). This can be extended to the home as well. As noted, one can tell a lot about a society by how it treats its elderly citizens, and unfortunately, many elderly Americans, especially those who live in low-income environments like many inner city areas, and who may have physical or mental impairments, are treated harshly, exploited. Nursing homes vs. home care  Surprisingly, elder abuse is statistically more likely from a support group or family member, than it is from a nursing home. One author states that Pillemer “found… that abusers were very likely to be dependent on the older person for housing and financial assistance. Indeed, only one-third of the abusers were financially independent of the abused elder” (Atchley, p. 399). It is not the intention of this report to question or bring naïve criticism to Atchley’s work, but at certain times, this may miss the human element of the problem. There is a whole range of individual experience in the world, and just because one researcher found in a controlled study that independent older individuals were more likely to be abused does not mean that dependency in older individuals is somehow absolutely not related to abuse and neglect. The fundamental question of this situation deals with ethics as something that either can or cannot be implemented as a universal condition. This assumes that ethics can be considered to operate across boundaries of nations and culture and unite people through a framework that is shared. Basically the situation is about whether or not a universal definition of ethics is possible and if so, how the universally accepted definition regards ethics as an individual or group’s ability to make choices regarding how to act and how to behave. There are statistical similarities that tend to unite elder abusers, but there is no blanket policy or profile. “The typical perpetrator, or abuser, is a relative who lives with or near the elder.25,31 Three characteristics of the perpetrator are known risk factors: a history of mental illness and/or substance abuse, excessive dependence on the elder for financial support, and a history of violence within or outside of the family” (Improper, 2007). This was not a family with a history of violence, so this decreased the likelihood Conclusion  Elders are more likely to be abused by financially dependent family members than they are by healthcare workers and nursing home workers. This may be surprising reading the mainstream media and statements on the issue, one would think that the reverse would be true. Healthcare workers still need to work as advocates to end elder abuse, whether it is being visited upon single older persons living alone by healthcare professionals, or whether it is being visited upon them by their own family. This report has looked at the presenting ethical problem, and then taken discussion in support of, and against, the author’s own ethical actions in relation to this problem, before concluding. Elder abuse is a complicated subject, because there are so many categories of abuse. In talking about these categories of abuse, one must also not lose sight of a subject of potential future research: the relationship between elder abuse and elder neglect, in terms of its commonality. Neglect is often under reported because it is not viewed as being as serious as abuse, but one must remember that neglect is a form of abuse, and is a legitimate category. REFERENCE Atchley, Robert C. (2000) Social Forces and Aging: An Introduction to Social Gerontology. Stamford, CT: Wadsworth Thompson Learning. Colero, Larry (2003). A Framework for Universal Principles of Ethics. Crossroads. http://www.ethics.ubc.ca/papers/invited/colero.html. Collins, K. (2006). Elder maltreatment. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. Improper use of physical and chemcial restraints (2007). http://www.virginia-elder-abuse-law.com/practice_areas/restraints-in-nursing.cfm Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Abuse of the Elderly Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words”, n.d.)
Abuse of the Elderly Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/social-science/1572107-abuse-of-the-elderly
(Abuse of the Elderly Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words)
Abuse of the Elderly Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1572107-abuse-of-the-elderly.
“Abuse of the Elderly Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1572107-abuse-of-the-elderly.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Abuse of the Elderly

Major Paper 4--Explaining a Concept Research Paper

The World Health Organization has recognized Elderly Abuse as an increasingly growing problem among the population of the elderly.... It is because of the closeness of the elderly towards his abuser that the law has classified Elder Abuse as a part of domestic or family violence.... In the case of the elderly, an abuser will do his best to portray the elderly as senile, or accident prone, and basically, just unable to care for him or herself sans any assistance....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Key Characteristics of Feminist Criminology

(Coramae Richey) Very little is known about family violence, but recent examinations of the problem have revealed some startling cases of women who abuse their children, husband, and parents.... The younger child is most often the victim, and while mothers are more likely (68 percent) than fathers (58 percent) to commit child abuse, both parents are equally capable of serious violence against their children.... Yet this form of spouse abuse is now believed to be more commonplace than previously imagined....
5 Pages (1250 words) Term Paper

Criminal Law Degree Case Study

"Fraud by abuse of position" under Section 4 of the Act in case of the Abuse of the Elderly man's money in his position of his caretaker.... hen Fred persuades an elderly to write a the facts are insufficient to judge whether there has actually been some sort of deception here but see below for a case under the Fraud Act 2006....
4 Pages (1000 words) Case Study

Level of Prevention

This test uses a set of 15 assessment criteria which are intended to measure three different levels of abuse (a) actual incidence of direct abuse or a violation of the personal rights of the elderly person (b) the extent to which the elderly person is vulnerable to abuse and individual characteristics that increase vulnerability and (c) the identification of potentially abusive situations.... population, however by 2050, the percentage of people above the age of 85 is projected to rise to 25%, thereby raising the possibility of an increase in elder abuse and the emergence… Effective prevention of elderly abuse involves three different stages – (a) the primary prevention stage, wherein a person at risk is identified before the abuse actually occurs, (b) secondary prevention wherein an ed person is treated and evaluated from the point of view of potential for future risk and (c) tertiary prevention, which includes the involvement of the family and community in ensuring that an abused victim is protected from further abuse and that the physical, psychological and emotional damages caused to the elderly person are addressed, treated and prevented from future occurrence....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Mental Health and Elder Abuse

Abuse of the Elderly can be defined as any type of physical, emotional or sexual abuse… This particular type of abuse can also entail emotional and financial abuse.... Elder abuse can originate from a family member or friend of the elderly individual in question.... Elder abuse can even mean neglect or desertion of an elderly person in one's care.... Peter is also at risk for substance abuse and other self destructive behaviors....
20 Pages (5000 words) Essay

Family Violence

Starting from child abuse several other domestic acts of violence by family members have been recognized till date which includes spouse abuse, Abuse of the Elderly and sibling abuse.... Starting from child abuse several other domestic acts of violence by family members have been recognized till date which includes spouse abuse, Abuse of the Elderly and sibling abuse.... Those who have a violent nature use the inability of these people to abuse them physically and emotionally, exploit their money or property, neglect the person's basic needs or in some cases forcefully evicting the elderly person from the house....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

New York: Springer Publishing Company LLC, 2007. This book looks at Abuse of the Elderly… Starting from defining elder abuse, the book looks at the immense nature of the problem and detections issues.... It then expands to provide possible intervention solutions to reduce the problem of Abuse of the Elderly.... This book looks at Abuse of the Elderly comprehensively.... It then expands to provide possible intervention solutions to reduce the problem of Abuse of the Elderly....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Family Protective Services Case: Abuse of Elderly and Ailing

This case study "Family Protective Services Case: Abuse of Elderly and Ailing" is an indication of abuse towards Mamie based on the several theories that are posed by Wallace while explaining the Abuse of the Elderly.... The study highlights the benefits of nursing homes for the elderly.... The possession of this facility is sufficient enough to make her access adequate and appropriate elderly care in addition to the relevant medical treatment for her condition (Summers & Hoffman, 2006)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us