ELDER ABUSE.   Term Paper ID:29387 Click to get this paper

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Paper Abstract: Context of this growing problem. Definitions of abuse or mistreatment of the elderly. Physical, psychological, emotional, sexual and financial abuses and neglect. Risk factors for sexual and other abuse. Theoretical explanations regarding causes of elder abuse. Interventions and preventive measures including social services, health care and education with public awareness campaign. Paper Introduction: Research regarding the extent of elder abuse is lacking, and research regarding elder sexual abuse is even more sparse. Reports point out that a problem exists and is likely to become worse due to the aging of the world's population. It is stated that research regarding this issue, is where research was 20 years ago, regarding child abuse or violence against women. Population-based studies have found that 4-6% of the elderly are abused in the home and most are at risk from family members. In a U.S. National Elder Abuse Incidence Study, two-thirds of the perpetrators were adult children or spouses. It has also been found that the elderly are abused in nursing homes, hospitals, or other institutions; in one study, 36% of nursing home staff stated that they had witnessed at least one physical abuse incident with an elderly patient (Nelson, 2002). Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Although findings arenot related specifically to sexual abuse, this abuse is lumped into thedefinition of elderly abuse. Other risk factorsinclude physical or emotional impairment due to stroke or disease, or otherfactors, family problems, isolation, history of family abuse, and poverty.Institutional abuse is triggered by stress, burnout, negative attitudes,and patient aggression. Elderly victimization. Themistreatment results in suffering, injury, pain, violation of human rights,and a decreased quality of live. (1998). Hirsch, Stratton, andLoewy (1999) pointed out that elderly abuse may be acute or chronic.Medical consequences tend to result in the physician being in a positionfor assessment and detection of the problem, however studies show thatphysicians do not tent to distinguish complaints from aging problems, andsuspect this abuse. Gray-Vickrey (2 1) reported that neglect occurs in 49% ofsubstantiated elder abuse cases, emotional abuse is found in 35% of cases,financial abuse is found in 3 % of cases, and physical abuse or use ofphysical force is found in 25% of cases. Violence against elderly people: A neglected problem. This abuse may result in depression, helplessness, personalitydisorders, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorder, and difficultyexpressing anger. Adapting life-review therapy for elderly female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Western Journal of Medicine, 17 (6), 353-358.McCabe, K. (2 2). Acts include threatening,humiliating, isolating, abandoning, starving, striking, burning, and takingproperty. In a U.S.National Elder Abuse Incidence Study, two-thirds of the perpetrators wereadult children or spouses. Evidencehas shown that abused elders tend to have higher levels of depression orpsychological distress, compared to non-abused elders. Health care providers are mandated to report elderlyabuse, however, and the physician must become aware of abuse indicators.Patient safety is the immediate consideration for intervention. h., Stratton, S., & Loewy, R. Population-based studies have found that 4-6% of the elderly areabused in the home and most are at risk from family members. Nelson (2 2) reported that recommendations for prevention andintervention of elderly abuse fall into three service areas to includesocial services such as emergency shelters and telephone help-lines, healthcare, and education with public awareness campaigns. (1999). The author stated that for women over 8 years, risk factors forsexual and other abuse include needs for assistance with daily activitiessuch as bathing, dressing, and meal preparation. One research study determined that afterreaching the age of 65 years, the elderly individual had experiencedphysical abuse (2%), verbal aggression (1.1%), and neglect (.4%) (Wolf,2 ). McCabe and Gregory (1998) studied elderly victimization in aretrospective study with secondary analysis of data from the FBI's NationalIncident-Based Reporting System in South Carolina. Childhood sexual abuse is linked to elderly sexual and other abuse.McInnis-Dittrich (1996) reported on elderly female survivors of childhoodsexual abuse. Most of the crimes being experienced by those younger than age65 were aggravated or simple assault, burglary, and larceny(78.1%). A., & Gregory, S. Generations, 24(2), 6-12. (2 1). Elderlyfemales were less likely to be victims of crime (48.6%) than male elderly(51.4%). The nature and scope of elder abuse. Elder abuse is defined as representing all types of abuse behavior ormistreatment toward an older adult. Interventions Wolf (2 ) stated that studies regarding the effects of elderlyabuse are rare. (1996). ElderlyWhites were twice as often victims of crime, compared to Black elderly.Black elderly were more often victims of violent crimes of assault (3 .4%)and intimidation (9.3%) and White elderly were more often victims ofproperty crimes (13.6%), larceny (22.5%), and vandalism (15.2%). It is believed that most casesare not reported, making the problem even more prevalent and difficult toassess. S. Nursing Management, 32(1 ), 36-4 .Hirsch, C. Theoretical explanations regarding causes of elder abuse include thefollowing: the situational model, which states that an overburdenedcaregiver is the cause; exchange theory, with a dependent elder orperpetrator; psychopathology where the perpetrator is mentally disturbed;and social learning theory which includes a childhood of abuse and neglect. Behaviors are labeled as abusive,neglectful, or exploitative depending on duration, intensity, severity,consequences, frequency, and cultural context. (2 ). If thepatient lacks decision-making capacity, court involvement may be required.While Adult Protective Services can be accessed, physicians do not tend towork closely with this organization. Depression and anxiety resulting from the child abuse,may be manifested in somatic complaints that are not distinguished fromaging problems, making detection of this cause of elderly abuse, difficult. Actions such as sexual assault, gun threats, or other violentacts need occur only once to be considered abuse, while an act such as oneslap may not be considered abuse. S. Findings showed that by 13 years follow-up, 4 % of the nonabused group were alive and only 9% of the abused groupwere alive. Forthe elderly victim, most crimes were robbery, aggravated or simple assault,intimidation, burglary, larceny, and vandalism (87.4%); most were victimsof robbery (9.8%), intimidation (7.4%), and vandalism (13.9%). The Lancet, 36 (9339), 1 94-5.Wolf, R. With this theory, the long-term relationship is examined, prior to the abuse (Wolf, 2 ). Findings showed that victimization was agespecific. It is stated that research regarding this issue, iswhere research was 2 years ago, regarding child abuse or violence againstwomen. Research regarding the extent of elder abuse is lacking, and researchregarding elder sexual abuse is even more sparse. The elderly survivor may be drawn toabusive relationships such as elder abuse. One study comparedannual health for 2,812 elderly, to health for those from an adult abuseagency, over a nine-year period. Additional theories focus on: individual traits, the feminist theory withan imbalance of power in relationships, and the political economic theorywhich refers to the marginalization of elders within the society resultingin conditions which lead to violence. The study ofelderly survivors of child sexual abuse, provides an avenue for futurestudy of elderly sexual abuse. Information thus far views this type of abusewithin an overall context of elderly abuse in general. Current tendency is to include theseaspects into a wider context which investigates relationship quality,within the intimate partner violence focus. Types of abuse includephysical, psychological or emotional, or financial abuse or neglect. Families in Society, 77(3), 166-175.Nelson, D. This may be due to the difficulty in separating effects ofthe aging process and disease, from specific effects of abuse. Reports point out that aproblem exists and is likely to become worse due to the aging of theworld's population. Cognitive disorders may be present, contributing to impaired interpersonalrelationships, throughout life. ReferencesGray-Vickrey, P. The primary care of elder mistreatment. In summary, the problem of elderly sexual abuse lacks empirical studyand adequate intervention. Protecting the older adult. Research on Aging, 2 (3), 363-372.McInnic-Dittrich, K. It has also been found that the elderly areabused in nursing homes, hospitals, or other institutions; in one study,36% of nursing home staff stated that they had witnessed at least onephysical abuse incident with an elderly patient (Nelson, 2 2). This includes acts of commission oromission, either intentional or unintentional. Thus according to this theory,child sexual abuse results in disturbed interpersonal relationships, whichlater result in elderly sexual and other abuse. After adjusting for all factors which might affect mortality,the researchers concluded that mistreatment resulted in extreme stress andrisk for death. Unresolved sexual abuse is found in older sexual abusesurvivors. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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