Elder Abuse and PreventionKaitlyn Krimmel Department of Psychology Grand Valley State University

REFERENCES

Buzgova, R., & Ivanova, K. (2009). Elder abuse and mistreatment in residential settings. Nursing Ethics, 110-126.

Elderly abuse statistics. (September, 2012). http://www.statisticbrain.com/elderly-abuse-statistics/

Financial abuse. (2008). http://www.preventelderabuse.org/elderabuse/fin_abuse

Jayawardena, K., & Liao, S. (2006). Elder abuse at end of life. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 9(1), 127-136.

Nursing home abuse: Why does it exist?. (2012). http://www.elder-abuse-information.com/abuse/abuse_causes.htm

Quinn, R. (April, 2011). Shocking facility elder abuse caught on tape. http://www.newser.com/story/115915/shocking-elder-abuse-caught-on-tape-at-facility.html

Robinson, L., Benedictis, T., & Segal, J. (June, 2012). Elder abuse and neglect. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.html.

Schiamberg, L., Oehmke, J., Zhang, Z., Barboza, G., Griffore, R., Heydrich, L., Post, L., & Weatherill, R. (2012). Physical abuse of older adults in nursing homes: A random sample survey of adults with an elderly family member in a nursing home. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 65-83.

Contact Information: krimmelk@mail.gvsu.edu

Patient Advocates• Will stand on the patients side to help make

sure the patients opinion is heard when speaking to a nurse or doctor.

• Will make them feel as comfortable as possible.

• Ease tension between a nurse or doctor before anger escalates to violence.

Healthcare Responsibilities• Education on elder abuse in nursing homes

and in-home care facilities to make the staff aware of what is right and wrong when handling patients.

• Scheduling enough staff so workers are not rushed and are able to get the job done effectively.

• Approving new employees to make sure they are properly trained before they are left on their own with patients.

Prevention Program Continued

State Appointed Advocates• Would check to make sure everything was

being done according to plan to help prevent elder abuse.

• The facility would face serious consequences if the rules were not being followed.

9.5% of the population is abused with the most cases being reported as neglect and physical abuse (Elder Abuse Statistics 2012).

Prevalence of Elder Abuse

Prevention Program

Key Features of the Program:• Nursing homes or in home care facilities would

require mandatory seminars on abuse and neglect before allowing the patient to enter the facility.

• Seminar would cover signs of abuse and neglect.

• Self defense techniques would be taught to help make the elderly be more confident about their ability to protect themselves.

• The program would also be offered to elders in the community through parks and recreation programs and churches to help better educate the older population.

Due to the high rates of abuse towards elderly people, I have designed a prevention program to help reduce the occurrence of elder abuse.

Elders are towards the end of their lives and it is important to treat them fairly and respectfully.  However, elderly abuse is common as revealed in research.  In this presentation, I proposed an elderly abuse prevention program based on studies of elder abuse and neglect in both nursing homes and in-home care facilities. The program includes mandatory educational seminars for staff and patients, teaching of basic self-defense, and providing patient feedback and patient advocates.  By implementing such a program elderly patients would be able to live safely and feel more secure moving into facilities that help take care of them.

INTRODUCTION

Types of Abuse

Physical Abuse• It is the most common type of abuse.• It can lead to: Bruises, scrapes, broken bones, or

marks due to restriction of mobility (Schiamberg et al., 2012).

Emotional Abuse• It usually results from physical abuse.• It can result from being physically abused, and

also from being yelled at, humiliated, threatened, and punished (Buzgova & Ivanova, 2009).

Financial Abuse• It is a crime committed by family, business, or

someone who preys upon the elderly.• They abuse older adults financially by stealing

their money, property, forging their name, or having the elder sign their name to commit fraud (Financial Abuse 2008).

• Some examples of abuse the elderly could potentially face are, being yelled at and threatened, having physical restraints used on them more than necessary, not having pain relieved, or having their money controlled by family or employees without permission (Buzgova & Ivanova, 2009)

• Patients who have Alzheimer's or dementia can be at greater risk for physical abuse (Schiamberg et al., 2012).

Examples of Elder Abuse