Elder Mistreatment Essay Example for Free

Elder Mistreatment Essay Old age is generally a time for great life changes, stresses, and multiple losses for a maturing adult. An individual’s capacity to manage stress fluctuates with age. There are optimism and positive energy in youth, along with physical stamina to meet demands of life and cope up with conflict. With advancing age, and consequent physical illness, bereavement and fears, people suffer a deterioration of their mental stamina in negotiating challenges of life (Gonzalez et al. , 1988, 15). With an increasing sense of loneliness and insecurity about life, aging adult face a completely different level of problems that relate more to continuity, meaning and purposefulness of life, rather than meeting its material accomplishments. Elder mistreatment: Definition Defining elder mistreatment requires due consideration of a number of factors that vary from victim profiles to type and degree of abuse. Therefore to standardize its definition, elder mistreatment has been described as a process that starts with being overwhelmed that leads to abuse, mistreatment and neglect that causes suffering and pain for the victim (Johnson, 1991). Elder mistreatment deals with such issues as maltreatment, neglect, abuse, domestic violence, conflict and lapse in care management and physical and financial exploitation (Elder Abuse). Despite all the health management plans the fact remains that elder people are very vulnerable when it comes to health care. They are easily susceptible to diseases, illness, injuries, and psychological traumas that are consequences of aging (Pillemer and Wolf, 1986). These circumstances lead to abuse owing to isolation of According to national surveys, more than 49 percent of elder population reports abuse that range from neglect in providing basic amenities such as food, water, medicines, shelter, clothing, and timely medical treatment to denial of emotional and psychological support (Elder Abuse) With significant increase in America’s elder population, providing adequate elder care at family, social, and institutional level has become a major issue. The public conscience level for the major problems facing old age people are neglect, mistreatment and mismanagement in care related aspects has seen greater academic research to find out the causative factors behind elder neglect and mistreatment. Precipitators in elder mistreatment Contrary to the general perception of American family as one that is caring, considerate and loving towards its elder members, researches in elder neglect and abuse have shown that most of the neglect and mistreatment is inflicted at the hands of close family members (Pillemer and Wolf, 1986). In a report by National Elder Abuse Incidence Study on elder abuse, it was shown that majority of abuse on people aged 60 or more takes place in domestic quarters at hands of family members (Bergeron and Gray, 2003). Close relatives such as siblings, children and in several cases even spouses have been found to be responsible for neglect and abuse. Earlier conceptions of families being a safe heaven for elderly population received setback as definition of neglect broadened to comprise sensitive issues of psychological support, emotional care, empathy and understanding (Douglass et al, 1984). An issue of grave concern is the findings pointing to elder abuse and mistreatment taking place at professional health care and nursing institutions by nursing staff that is specifically trained for taking adequate care of elderly people (Johnson, 1991) Types of mistreatment afflicting elders Elder population suffers a wide range of mistreatment and abuse. The major types of mistreatments as described at Elder Abuse Help Guide are 1. Physical abuse of Elders: It includes physically maltreating old people, assaulting, beating, pushing, using physical restraints and manhandling. Physical abuse is relatively a rare phenomenon.   2.  Emotional abuse: Emotional abuse of elders includes verbal or non verbal expression of disconcert, insult, blame, verbal harassment, ridicule, intimidation, and yelling on part of care takers. Emotional mistreatment is one of most frequent and commonly occurring abuse that elders suffer throughout the nation. 3. Neglect: Elder neglect involves ignorance of basic needs and requirements of aged people, lack of shelter, absence of supervision and monitoring, deliberate delay or denial in providing medical care and inadequate personal and hygienic care. 4. Emotional Neglect: Emotional neglect leads to severe stress among old people.  They are deliberately ignored, left to fend for themselves, not taken care of in such activities in which they require support and help of care-takers. 5. Financial Abuse: Elders are often abused financially by exploiting their financial resources and denying them the privileges of their own assets. Elders subjected to financial abuse are often deliberately isolated from rest of world by their caretakers to avoid exposure and detection of their fraud. Financial abuse of elders is a common occurrence when elders are not staying with their blood-relatives but with near relatives or friends. Reasons and warnings of abuse In the researches in elder abuse, a pertinent focus of researchers has been on the causes that lead people to inflict abuse and mistreatment on people that are vulnerable, dependent and in need of love, care and emotional and often material support (Johnson, 1991). Finding the reasons for abuse becomes critical as it also acts as pointer to possible cases of abuses and mistreatment in many social and community settings where cases of abuse are not reported out of their sensitive nature. In explaining the cause of abuse, Bonnie and Wallace (2002) have presented a detailed socio-cultural model that identifies underlying processes in abuse Overview of model of elder mistreatment Meanwhile extensive research by a number of academicians and scholars has further helped to create a structured profile of abuser. An elderly person may be undergoing abuse or is highly susceptible for it when the caretakers show psychopathological tendencies, trans-generational discrepancies, stressful life, economic hardships, burnout, drug-dependency, drinking problem, degree of dependence that is greater than care takers’ ability to handle, coercive and dominating nature of caretaker, inexperience, lack of sympathy and inability to feel empathy (Anetzberger , 1987; Anastasio , 1981;Johnson, 1991). Elders may also be suffering abuse if they show constant fear of their care-giver, if there is a confrontational atmosphere around, and if they are get suddenly isolated, uncommunicative and pensive. Preventing Elder Abuse It is a poignant fact that elders themselves can do little in preventing their abuse. In case of people who are completely dependent on care-givers, such as Alzheimer’s patients and terminally ill patients, their survival depends on the care-givers and hence they rarely report abuse incidents out of fear of antagonizing their care-givers. Therefore to prevent elder abuse requires a broad program that should focus on development of services for elderly care, training sessions for care givers, initiation and integration of family members in the elderly care programs. Moreover, it is vital to pass the message that adequate, compassionate and empathic care of elders is a holistic issue, one that has long term defining impact on social culture and ethics.