Elder Abuse and Maltreatment-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Discuss about the abuse of the Elders and the Reasons for the Abuse or the Maltreatment. Answer: Introduction: Abuse is defined as basically the infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation or any sort of negative behaviour which is responsible for causing physical harm, pain or any sort of mental anguish. The elderly people are always in danger of risks of abuse. The abuse of elders along with the neglect has existed in the society for centuries. The maltreatment of elders is a serious issue which needs proper amount of consideration and responsibility to stop such occurrences in the society. The concept of abuse or maltreatment of the elders is very vital. In accordance with the long term scenario this situation needs to be addressed in case of the long term settings of the elderly. There have been instances of abuse in long term care which is due to the lack of awareness among the staff who are mostly involved in the verbal abuse and even abuse of other forms. The issue: Elder mistreatment is basically recognised as a social problem of uncertain though the magnitude is probably increasing. It also leads to come to the conclusion that the cases of elder mistreatment will grow in the coming years as the ageing population increases. The mistreatment of the elderly is considered to be an act of either omission or commission which is that of neglect and is either intentional or unintentional (Eastman 2013). There may be physical assault, or it might be psychological or might include economic or other materialistic mistreatment. Irrespective of the type or the nature of abuse it results in suffering injury or pain or even the loss or the violation of human rights and also a lower grade of life of the elderly (Sooryanarayana, Choo and Hairi 2013). The behaviour can be termed as abusive, disturbing or ignorance depending on the frequency of occurrence of the mistreatment, its duration, severity and other consequences. In several places the displacement of older people as heads of the house as well as depriving them of their autonomy are also common practices (Kosberg and Garcia 2013). Cause of elder abuse and mistreatment: Elder abuse involves several factors and not one particular cause. One of the most important reasons for elderly mistreatment is the lower number of nursing with a lack of quality caregivers. At the time of occurrence the residents do not get the amount of attention which they actually deserve ad the caregivers are very few in number. There might also be personal problems arising among the individuals who provide care to the elderly. Often there are cultural, societal as well as familial influences which make an impact in the care which an elderly resident receives (Hoover and Polson 2014). The caregivers, the family members and the residents should take care of the elders and there should be a positive attempt to make a variation in the care received by the elderly. Family situations: There might be the existence or the occurrence of domestic violence which has occurred between the spouses or other family members might have an impact into old age. The presence of an elderly member in ones family and the struggle to care for that elderly person or the financial burden is too much of a stress for the family and the caregivers as well (Pillemer et al. 2016). In most of the cases the elder abuse occurs because the members of the family are the perpetrators of emotional, financial, sexual as well as physical abuses against the elderly relative. This is extremely devastating as a form of abuse as there is a lack of accountability for other persons to detect the warning signs and to help the family members in receiving the abuse. The culture and the differing family values also play a significant role in determining the people who get abused and who do not (Dong 2015). Problems and personal issues of the caregivers: The caregivers might be burdened fell the pressure of looking after or physically impaired or even mentally ill. It often happens that the caregivers might feel trapped or helpless and are often incapable of understanding which resources to turn to for assistance. The cost of caring for elderly who are sick or physically impaired pose a huge financial problem. In the absence of necessary resources there is the increase of the chances of the risk of abuse (Brownell 2014). Problems of the providers of care can impact the type of care which they meet out to their patients. The nursing place settings and those in the place of residence also matter. There are physical as well as economic and psychological issues. This might affect the amount of time and the assistance they provide to their residents they are responsible for taking care of (Jackson and Hafemeister 2013). There might be caregivers who have problems of drug addiction who may start to indulge in stealing or other acts which are unwise. There might be several issues which are faced by the caregivers which might lead them to mistreat the elders. These include being under too much stress due to chronic fatigue, possessing a huge amount of responsibilities per day, suffering from illicit usage of drugs including the excessive use of alcohol, possessing psychological problems including that of bipolar disorder and also symptoms of depression and finally the anxiousness related to the limited amount of financial resources. Cultural issues: There are certain individuals or communities who hold a lack of respect for elderly adults. This might be regarded as disposable thus leading to an increased risk of abuse. There are certain families which give more importance to the respect and the care of elders and some do not. In those families where the elders are considered as a burden or an unfruitful or non-contributing member of the society the abuse of the elderly are more common (Martins et al. 2014). Possible solutions to the scenario: The issue of elderly abuse needs to be cured and solved as it is a serious issue which is affecting the society and the mindsets of the impressionable people in a wrong way. The elderly abuse or maltreatment is extremely inhuman which needs to be at first reduced and gradually prevented at all costs (Bennett and Kingston 2013). There needs to be an effort to combat isolation. Every individual should take it upon themselves to either connect with an older relative or make friends with the elderly by any sort of volunteer programs or by visiting old age homes (Martins et al 2014). Spreading awareness regarding this issue is also an important way to prevent sch inhuman acts. There needs to be an awareness among the public that the concept of elder abuse exists in the society and it is very wrong to participate in such practices. Conclusion: Any individual who suspects or witnesses abuse of the elderly should report it to the appropriate authorities clearly describing the symptoms of abuse. Thus the discovery of abuse should be followed by the indications for abuse and it should be stopped at once as soon as it is found to occur with any one and in any form. Always keeping the government informed as well as maintaining a level of knowledge regarding the local, state as well as federal goals can be ensured. This is due to the fact that the power of passing legislations, the implementation of regulatory measures and the alignment of the funding priorities with the best interest of the citizens is in their hands. References: Bennett, G. and Kingston, P.W., 2013.Elder abuse: Concepts, theories and interventions. Springer. Brownell, P.J., 2014.Family crimes against the elderly: Elder abuse and the criminal justice system. Routledge. Dong, X.Q., 2015. Elder abuse: systematic review and implications for practice.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,63(6), pp.1214-1238. Eastman, M., 2013.Old age abuse: a new perspective. Springer. Hoover, R.M. and Polson, M., 2014. Detecting elder abuse and neglect: assessment and intervention.American family physician,89(6). Jackson, S.L. and Hafemeister, T.L., 2013. Understanding elder abuse: New directions for developing theories of elder abuse occurring in domestic settings. Kosberg, J.I. and Garcia, J.L., 2013.Elder abuse: International and cross-cultural perspectives. Routledge. Martins, R., Neto, M.J., Andrade, A. and Albuquerque, C., 2014. Abuse and maltreatment in the elderly.Atencion primaria,46, pp.206-209. Pillemer, K., Burnes, D., Riffin, C. and Lachs, M.S., 2016. Elder abuse: global situation, risk factors, and prevention strategies.The Gerontologist,56(Suppl_2), pp.S194-S205. Sooryanarayana, R., Choo, W.Y. and Hairi, N.N., 2013. A review on the prevalence and measurement of elder abuse in the community.Trauma, Violence, Abuse,14(4), pp.316-325.