Elder Abuse in Healthcare Settings: An Unseen Crisis

Elderly adults face an abundant amount of abuse in many healthcare settings. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), elder abuse is defined as, “intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or “trusted” individual that lead to, or may lead to, harm of a vulnerable elder” (NCEA, 2017, p. 2). Elder abuse can possess many forms, including physical abuse, neglect, emotional or psychological abuse, financial abuse or exploitation, sexual abuse, and abandonment. (NCEA, 2017, p. 2). This abuse can take place in many settings that house seniors, age 65 years old and up regardless of age, sex, or race. These senior care facilities can include, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and/or senior day care

Those who are abusing the elderly can include children of the victim, family members, friends, and formal caregivers, such as nurses (Stark, 2011, p. 431). Nurses, who spend more time with patients than do any other healthcare professionals, are in an ideal position to identify, intervene, report, and generally lead the way in preventing abuse of the elderly. 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

According to the Nation Council on Aging (NCOA), “approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60 and up have experienced some form of elder abuse. Some estimates range as high as 5 million elders who are abuse each year.” More specifically, a study based in New York estimated that 260,00 (1 in 13) older adults in the state of New York were victims of at least one form of elder abuse in the preceding year. The study revealed that major financial exploitation was self-reported at a rate of 41 per 1,000 surveyed, which was higher than self-reported rates o emotional, physical and sexual abuse or neglect. (NCEA, 2016). But, sadly with all of the issues of abuse only 1 in 14 cases of abuse get reported to authorities (NCOA, 2017). These situations of abuse are happening by both men and women, with 60% of the abuse performed by family members (NCOA, 2017). The population of elderly is increasing every year and with the elder being the most vulnerable we need to put an end to the incidences of abuse. Now that we have a better understanding of the prevalence and different forms of elder abuse that are present in our healthcare system, there is a question of why these things happen to elders specifically. Why are elderly patients subjected to these forms of