Social isolation of caregivers and older persons, and the ensuing lack of social support, is a significant risk factor for elder abuse. Older people become isolated due to the loss of family members and/or physical or mental incapacity. When you think of generations associated with an elder person, you would think of the
baby boomers, the mature/silent, and the GI generation. The GI generation is the strong model of
teamwork to overcome and progress. They saved a world and built a nation. Their depression
was the great one; their war was the big one and their prosperity was the legendary Happy Days.
The mature/silent generation are the free spirits of postwar happiness. These people pledged their life to their job. Women were expected
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The victims ranged in age from 18 -101. The perpetrators ages were 16-96, “74% were male, were employees of the involved facility and 24% were residents.” Furthermore, 78% of sexual assault happened in nursing homes. The article further states that it’s very difficult to prove sexual assault in a nursing home setting, and not all abusive acts leave evidence. The reasons cited by the article state,” There was no semen present.” “The physical and rape kit exam were negative.” “There was no independent corroboration.” “I just couldn’t prove it.” Debilitating conditions such as dementia, aphasia posed to be difficult in proving any wrong doing. Even more frustrating in this article was the fact that facilities failed to report any suspicions to authorities. One facility went to the extreme measure of locking a resident in her room for multiple days to prevent further harm. Per the article, the time frame for reporting these incidents range from 14 to 45 days. When law enforcement receives these reports, most are not taken seriously. The article goes on to say that law enforcement often gets too busy to go to the facility to take the report, and law enforcement would like to gain training to validate a report
boomers take their knowledge and skills with them as they face retirement. As of now
Social integration and participation of seniors in society are important indicators of healthy aging. However, seniors are always at risk of being socially isolated. Many factors can cause social isolation and among them population aging that resulted more seniors to live longer is one of the most important factors.
Nursing Home Abuse With over 1.5 million elderly and dependent adults now living in nursing homes throughout the country, abuse and neglect has become a widespread problem. Even though some nursing homes provide good care, many are subjecting helpless residents to needless suffering and death. Most residents in nursing homes are dependent on the staff for most or all their needs such as food, water, medicine, toileting, grooming- almost all their daily care. Unfortunately, many residents in nursing homes today are starved, dehydrated, over-medicated, and suffer painful pressure sores. They are often isolated, ignored, and deprived of social contact and stimulation.
Elder abuse is a very sad reality. With an understanding of what the term elder abuse encompasses, who is at risk, what the warning signs are, the statutes that are there to protect the elderly, who is mandated to report the abuse, and how to report the abuse, it is important to minimize the crime. As with all things, the most important way to prevent something from happening is to educate, and elder abuse is no different. If care takers had education about the numerous resources there are, such as support groups and counseling, elder abuse could possibly be decreased exponentially.
Elder abuse is causing emotional, physical or sexual harm, financial exploitation, or intentional or unintentional neglect to someone of greater age, whether it be from a family member or a stranger. Elder abuse has been a social issue for many years prior to any kind of legislation being made. Victims of elder abuse are often older adults ages 60 to 75 and the person abusing the elder is usually someone the victim knows, but could be a stranger in certain cases.
Of nursing home staff interviewed in 2004, nearly 40% admitted to committing at least one psychologically abusive act toward a resident and 10% admitted to physically abusing a resident in the preceding year.[1] Not only are nursing home residents at risk of being abused by their caretakers but they are also at risk of being restrained, which may lead to a form of abuse. With five percent of the elderly population, or one to two million instances of elder abuse occurring yearly there is no doubt that elder abuse deserves serious consideration.[2]
In order to understand how abuse has an effect on the elderly we must first understand the different types of elder abuse. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can aid in understanding the different forms by defining what each form entails (CDC, 2016). Physical abuse is the intentional use of physical force that results in illness, injury, pain, functional impairment, distress or even death. Neglect can be defined as failure by the
After the World War II, this group of individuals were expected to view life in a more serious perspective. They had to take up certain roles, for instance, the male individuals willingly joined the army in order to make enough money to sustain their families. The female counterparts on the other hand took up household responsibilities, got married and built families. Though education was considered as a fundamental requirement, issues such as marriage had an upper hand. During the same period, there was a great deal of improvement of the economy and most parents could afford to take their children to institutions of higher learning.
However, when the war was over, and the men returned to their lives, society reverted back to as it had been not before the 1940s, but well before the 1900s. Women were expected to do nothing but please their husband. Women were not meant to have jobs or worry about anything that was occurrin...
Women were not only separated by class, but also by their gender. No woman was equal to a man and didn’t matter how rich or poor they were. They were not equal to men. Women couldn’t vote own business or property and were not allowed to have custody of their children unless they had permission from their husband first. Women’s roles changed instantly because of the war. They had to pick up all the jobs that the men had no choice but to leave behind. They were expected to work and take care of their homes and children as well. Working outside the home was a challenge for these women even though the women probably appreciated being able to provide for their families. “They faced shortages of basic goods, lack of childcare and medical care, little training, and resistance from men who felt they should stay home.” (p 434)
During the Great War and the huge amount of men that were deployed created the need to employ women in hospitals, factories, and offices. When the war ended the women would return home or do more traditional jobs such as teaching or shop work. “Also in the 1920s the number of women working raised by fifty percent.” They usually didn’t work if they were married because they were still sticking to the role of being stay at home moms while the husband worked and took care of the family financially. But among the single women there was a huge increase in employment. “Women were still not getting payed near as equally as men and were expected to quit their jobs if they married or pregnant.” Although women were still not getting payed as equally it was still a huge change for the women's
The disengagement theory is one of the psychological theories on the development process of ageing (Williams, Tibbitts & Donohue, 2008). The idea behind the disengagement theory is that it is an inevitable and natural process for older adults to disengage from society and their relationships that were the centre of their adulthood (Williams, Tibbitts & Donohue, 2008). There are nine postulates in Henry and Cumming’s theory of disengagement. Firstly, is that they lose relationships because they are expecting death (Williams, Tibbitts & Donohue, 2008). Second is that as they disengage, they are freed from social norms which in turn reinforces the disengagement process (Williams, Tibbitts & Donohue, 2008).
Sexual abuse as a child maltreatment became a social issue in the 1970 is through the efforts of the child protection movement and the feminist movement. Historical changes occurred, whereas the perceptions of children changed from property to individuals with rights. Sexual abuse is a traumatic event for the children and the impact felt throughout the life span. Because of the secrecy of this exploitation, the true number of victims is unknown.
The National Research Council reports abuse as: an intentional action of any physical act that cause pain or injury, inflicting emotional distress/psychological harm, sexual harassment, financial exploitation and neglect (Bonnie & Wallace, 2003, pg.35). As elders are aging, they become more vulnerable to mistreatment due to arise health condition, such as cognitive impairment and physical decline. Due to the lack of data collecting agency and the absence of National US report, it is a continuum debate over the accuracy and statistics of elder abuse incidents. National Academy of science reported that only 1 out of 14 abuse cases are classified for a further investigation and only 1 out 24 cases gets reported. According to the “Census Bureau”, as of 2010 people 65 year ˃ has ↑ to a 13%...
Nevertheless, media influences the lives of older adults. Older adult abuse is highly promoted through media when it criticises the care provision, especially highlighting the neglect and abused experienced. Abuse can happen to anyone, however, it is prone to older adults because they are labelled as being vulnerable.