Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes

Physical abuse is when someone hits you or hurts your body. Sexual abuse is when someone touches your body in a way you do not like, sexual abuse can also be when someone wants you to touch them or to wanting you to have sex with them when you don’t want to. Emotional abuse is when someone keeps saying hurtful things that upset you. Financial abuse is when someone takes your money or belongings from you without your permission, someone who is committing financial abuse may also force you to give them things or spend money that you don’t want to spend. Neglect by others is where the people that are supposed to support and look after you

Elder abuse is the most common type of abuse that gets looked over. People normally do not suspect or even think an elderly person may be getting abused, but this is a serious topic in nursing homes and hospitals. Every health care professional needs to learn the warning signs and symptoms of elder abuse to prevent this from happening.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention standardly defines elder abuse as “any abuse and neglect of persons age 60 or older by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust” (CDC, Elder Abuse). It is always thought that the elderly are treated with honor, dignity and respect but many of the elderly have been abused and neglected as much if not worse than the children we spoke of in our previous discussions. Who seriously could hurt these frail people, someone’s grandparents, possibly even your own; persons who because of the aging process have lost their ability to fight back and are being bullied or attacked by someone in a position of trust. It is estimated that 70% to 90% of the perpetrators of elderly

The issue of elder abuse and neglect is a significant health care issue, that need to be brought to the attention of society. Seniors who stay at home or in nursing homes are at more risk. Nurses should be aware of the signs and symptoms as well as resources in the community. By having a better understanding of these issues, nurses can recognize problems and help prevent the devastating effects of elderly abuse.

Is it worth putting your loved ones in a nursing home facility? According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Each year, hundreds of thousands of adults over the age of 60 are abused, neglected, or financially exploited.” Family members of an elderly person might assume that because they are paying such a large amount of money for assistance and a room in the facility, that they’re getting the best treatment and care for their relative. Although one might believe their loved ones would be better off in a nursing home, they might be putting them at a greater risk of abuse due to understaffing, lack of training within the staff, neglect, nurse burnout, and low wages. 2,150,000 cases

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.

1) Physical abuse – is where contact is made with the person like hitting them or biting and scratching them to hurt them or can be more sinister like burning them intentionally or using restraint this could lead to the person being reluctant to being alone with the carer/carers

There are many broad and different definitions of elder abuse, and different forms and ways to deal with it. Elder abuse consists of “intentional or neglectful acts of a caregiver, family member, friend, or other individuals that lead to, or may lead to, harm of a senior citizen” (Elder Abuse Facts, 2016). One of the biggest problems we face when looking at this policy is that elder harm and abuse can happen practically anywhere. Elder abuse can happen in a private setting; in their own homes committed by their own family members (Help Guide, 2014, p.1). But it can also happen in a care center, with lots of people living in close proximity to them.

Inappropriate use of drugs such as over-medicating, use of physical restraints, force-feeding, and physical punishment are also forms of physical abuse (Administration on Aging National Center on Elder Abuse, 2016). Indicators of elder physical abuse may include bruises or grip marks around the arms or neck, rope marks or welts on the wrists and/or ankles, or repeated unexplained injuries (Roberto, 2016). Roberto also states that another indicator of abuse may include the caregiver having a dismissive attitude or statements regarding the injuries. Another indicator of physical abuse may include the victim visiting different medical facilities for treatment as an effort to prevent the medical practitioners from observing a pattern of abuse.

As Americans live longer, it is no surprise that the population of older adults has increased; consequently so has the ubiquitous problem of elder abuse. In the United States elder abuse is an exceedingly, overlooked public health hazard; which covers a wide range of abuses. Approximately 2 million adults, over the age of 60 are abused or mistreated each year. ("Elder Justice: A John A. Hartford Foundation Change AGEnts Issue Brief", 2016) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has defined elder abuse as "an intentional act, or failure to act, by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult, age 60 and older” (“Elder Abuse: Definitions”, 2016) Studies show a vast majority of health care professionals underestimate the occurrence of elder

One way elder abuse or elder mistreatment can be defined is, “intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm, whether or not intended, to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder” (Bonnie & Wallace). There are seven main forms of elder abuse which include emotional, physical, psychological, sexual, financial, neglect, abandonment, and self-neglect (Cohen, Levin, Gagin & Friedman, 2007; Fulmer, 2008; Thompson & Priest, 2005). Even though only 6.2% of victims are abused in long-term care settings, my experience of witnessing neglect and abandonment are very serious (Teaster et al., 2006).

Placing your loved one in a nursing home can be a difficult decision, but sometimes it's necessary if you're unable to care for them at home. You want to trust the nursing facility gives the best of care, but sometimes that's not the case. It's a good practice to check your loved one frequently at various times of the day and keep watch for signs of neglect and abuse. Here are some of the signs that your loved one could be mistreated.

However, there are caregivers who either take crash course or receive on the job training, and just go ahead to become caregivers. Nursing home abuse therefore becomes unintentional because the staff members may not be well trained or they just memorized for the state exams. Such staff may not be able to take care of a confused or uncooperative elder and thus they may lash out at an innocent elder. This can also lead to oversight or inability of the Caregiver to recognize signs and symptoms of illnesses in the

According to the reading in this week’s content the reflecting incidents of abuse involving elderly residents in senior care homes are staggering and disheartening. This resident on resident abuse is hardly addressed, and state and government agencies have not provided much assistance in trying to prevent it from happening. In the case of the elderly man attacking an elderly woman the facility felt that increasing his meds would solve the issue of his erratic behavior. However, while increasing his medication this might be helpful with a thorough examination the proper response should have been to detain the attacker and call authorities to investigate the situation. The attacker must face the consequences for his actions and his behavior

Elder abuse includes forms of psychological abuse, sexual harm, physical abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. It is becoming a hidden problem due to excuses and missed signs of abuse. The most common type of elder abuse is financial exploitation and is perpetrated by a person that is well known by the victim. 90 percent of abuse comes from family members, especially the adult children. The children carry out financial abuse since they believe they would inherit the money anyway.