Elderly Abuse: An Introspective Look into How You Can Help

Elderly abuse is a silent crime that happens to many senior citizen, and many feel helpless and not sure what to do. For those who work in health care, it should not just be a company policy to report such abuses just because a person's place of employment wants to look good in the eyes of the state. If you witness this, it is not only lawful that you tell someone, it should also be the ethical thing to do, as abuse of anyone no matter what the age is a torture that people should not have to endure in their lives. Especially when their life may be soon coming to an end.

In a report from the National Center for Elderly Abuse in Washington D.C., elderly abuse has been on a steady rise since 1986, and more often times than not, many cases of elderly abuse go unreported and senior citizens often suffer in silence as they are physically hurt, demeaned, and put through a life of anguish and pain by those they love or those who take care of them. The most common form of abuse comes in the form of neglect, which comes in the forms of not helping them bathe, helping them eat, giving them adequate shelter, and other forms that can make a resident retreat within themselves as they face this horror alone. But, this is not the only one, as abuse can come in many forms, such as physical, emotional, self-abuse, fianancial exploitation, fraud, neglect and abandonment, and even sexually. Whatever the case may be, the minute that elderly abuse if found, there needs to be an immediate response.

In this article, I am going to give the statistics, symptoms, causes, who typical abusers are, and what you need to do to take a stand against these crimes for yourself, someone you love or maybe even someone that you do not know who may need your assistance if you become suspicious of witness an act of abuse.

NCEA has reported not too long ago that between one and two million senior citizens over the age of 65 have been abused at some point in their lives. There is a record one in twenty-five instances of senior citizens in a domestic setting that have been found to be abused in the form of financial exploitation in the year 2000, and that the frequency of abuse of any kind that occurs is between 2 and 10% nationwide. In the case of a domestic setting, one in fourteen cases that were reported required law enforcement to intervene. While law enforcement may become involved in these said instances, five go unreported while the one case that has been reported is being handled.

In the year 2003, Long-Term Ombudsman programs were called in to investigate a staggering 20,673 cases that had occurred within nursing home facilities on the behalf of their boards, those who lived there, and those who worked there. Out of the seven types of abuse classes that are available, physical abuse topped the charts as being the most common. While a staggering number, the government has been making attempts to have stricter guidelines enforced concerning these types of crimes against the senior citizen community, they are finding that the reason for the ineefectiveness of catching perpetrators that comiite these crimes is simply due to lack of funding, especially in the realm of Adult Protective service programs, which is at an amazing 57 %! The second highest was lack of emergency placement issues at 24 %, and then lack of awareness of these programs at 22%. So, with all of these problems that are within the admistration, what can we do?

The answer is very simple: we can help. How we help is knowing why kinds of abuse there are and what changes to look for, and who an abuser is and how to spot them.

There are many types of elderly abuse, and there are many different ways that we can spot the signs of them. I have compiled a list at the bottom of these types and what the symptoms are so that you will know instantly waht to look for. They are as follows:

1) Physical: This type of abuse can be anything that can bee seen that can be physically manifested on the person's body. This type of abuse can be in the form of hitting, slapping, breaking of bones, whipping, shoving, force-feeeding, or any other phsyical act that can hurt a resident. If you see this on a resident or loved one that you care for, look the entire person over. Look for swelling, welts, signs of bruising, sudeen changes in behavior (*such as irritability or not wanting to eat), bleedig, or even rope burns if the person has been restrained against their will. Check medical logs to see if there has been lab reports drawn up of overmedicatio or undermedication of the person. Also check to see if the person has reported it and if there was a log left of the incident.

2) Emotional: Emotional abuse deals specifically in the abuse of a person's mind. This can be in the forms of humilaition, teasing, threats of punishment, cutting them off from socializing with family or friends, or anything else that the resident may find demaning or hurtful. If you suspect that the abuse is emotional, they may sometimes stop talking or rock incessantly. They may become extreme agitated and hard to work with. They may exhibits the same behaviors as the people that abused them. As above, always check if the person has reported it. If they have not, report it immediately!

3)Neglect: Those who have been neglected are done so with either physical or emotional acts. This could be from not monitoring them when they need it, withholding baths, abandoning them, not helping them with simple tasks such as eating or washing themselves, and so on. If this person has been neglected, they may be malnourished, be unclean, have bed sores, be under physical or chemical restraints, and others.

4) Self-Neglect: This to me, is one of the worst, as the person who exhibits this simply does not care about themselves anymore. They will stop eating or bathing. They may stop taking much-needed medication or protecting themsleves from the elements. When you see them, they may seem weak or smell bad. They may be living in inadequate housing or may be homeless altogether. They may be missing needed health implements, such as glasses or hearing aids.

5) Sexual: This is when the person has been forced to perform sexual acts against their will. You may see such symptoms as bruises on the breasts or genitals, unusual bleeding from the vaginal area or anus, unexplained STD's, and bloody underclothing.

6) Financial Exploitation: This form involves such things as stealing, identity theft, forging another person's names on checks, signing them up for unneeded services, and so on. In essence, this is nothing more than sheer robbery. If this is happening, you may notice money missing, names added to bank accounts or insurance policies, changes in beneficiaries on insurance and wills, care that is not received due to insufficient funds, starnge bank activity, and the list goes on.

7) Healthcare Abuse And/Or Fraud: This is such acts as being charged for health care that was not received, double-billing or getting kickbacks, extreme frequencies on medications (*such as dosages), patient abuse in places such as hospitals or residential care settings, and even Medicare fraud. They are most times done by doctors, nurses, unlicensed health care professionals and/or providers.

Abuse can come from anyone and anywhere. But, in most cases it is from people in positions of power, such as family members or health care providers. For those who work in health care, it is most commonly caused by stress, not knowing what they are doing, etc. Even though it may be inadvertant on their part, it still happens and shouldn't. In order to stop this, it's extremely important that enforcement of abuse policies and education comes forth, and that when people are in the know, that they are observed and reminded constantly of how important this issue is. If the person is having problems, show them that you are willing to listen, and if needed, make appropriate steps so that the person is heard and that proper procedures may be completed to insure that their senior citizen is protected and that the problem is remedied.

Elderly abuse is an act that should not be ignored and should be addressed immediately. We all have the power to make and inact change within the system so that abuse of senior citizens can be brought back down to a minimum, and there needs to be stricter legislation from our governments within the state and Federal arenas to secure the safety of our aged. If you see it, don't walk away....act now!

For more information to assist you in the fight for senior citizen rights concerning elderly abuse or for more information about the subject, here are some great resources of information that may be of some use:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse

http://www.elderabusecenter.org

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/elder_abuse

http://www.business-home-protection.com

http://www.lawcore.com/nursing_hom/statistics.html

If you are witness to an abuse, here's are some things to do:

1)Call the police emergency line

2)Call a hospital or emergency room

3) Call 911

If you notice that it is happening more than once with the same person or with several people, contact your State Elder Abuse Hotline. if not, you can also contact the Eldercare Locater at 1-800-677-1116. Another agency to contact is the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Fight back against elderly abuse!