subject: Elder Abuse - It's Not Only In Nursing Homes [print this page] Everyone has the right to be safe from being harmed by the people who care for, live with, or come into contact with them. And we all have the right to be treated with care and respect.
The elderly live longer and, for the most part, are in better health today than they were in years past. Senior citizens are more independent, more active, and more visible than ever before.
However, as the elderly population increases, so do the problems of elder neglect, abuse and exploitation.
It's estimated that annually there are 2.1 million reported cases of elderly Americans who were victimized by psychological, physical or other types of neglect and abuse. However, these numbers are only part of the story. Experts have estimated that for every instance of elder neglect and abuse that's reported to the authorities there could be up to five others that remain unreported.
Recent research has indicated that if an elderly person was abused then he or she tended to die earlier than senior citizens who had not been abused. And this is true even if the abused person did not suffer from any life-threatening diseases or chronic conditions.
Many folks who hear or read about elder abuse and elder neglect associate it with the senior citizens who live in nursing homes or the ones who live alone and don't have visitors.
Although there are many instances of such abuse, the reality is that only around4% of elderly adults live in nursing homes. And the overwhelming majority of them have all of their physical needs taken care of without experiencing any neglect or abuse.
Most of the older people in the United States either live with their spouses, siblings, children, or other relatives or they live on their own. The majority of times that the elderly are abused happen at home.
When a senior citizen is abused it is usually by a paid caregiver, a family member, or another member of the household.
You may think that the people most vulnerable to abuse are mentally impaired or infirm.
However, even though those who are disabled, frail, depressed, or mentally impaired do have a greater potential of being abused, even people who don't have any of these risk factors might find that they are in an abusive relationship or situation.
There is never any acceptable reason for abusing another human being, no matter how stressful the situation or problem.
Elder abuse can be stopped or prevented if we can increase the awareness among home health care workers, mental health professionals, doctors and others who provide services to our senior citizens. And, if we are privy to abusive situations, then it is our responsibility to notify the proper authorities.
