Running Head: ELDER ABUSE: A STEADILY GROWING TREND

Elder Abuse: A Steadily Growing Trend

Mary Jo Wardle
Youngstown State University
Dr. Aurilio
Fall 2015
Final Draft
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Abstract

Elder abuse is a serious issue affecting many Americans. While this issue is not particularly new,

research, funding, and reporting is. There are many obstacles that stand in the health professional’s

way of detecting and assessing elder abuse. Many symptoms of elder abuse can be common

complications of normal aging, such as excessive bruising. Another example of this is poor dress

which can be either abuse or due to mental decline or inadequate finances. This along with several

other factors, is the reason the guidelines regarding this type of abuse are more clear. Although the

elderly are revered in some cultures, they have become a burden to many American families. This

tragic issue deserves just as much attention as other issues that medical health professionals face

every day.
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Elder abuse, or mistreatment, is a growing and tragic issue. As medical advancements

continue to extend the life expectancy of Americans, the issue of elder abuse will continue to

worsen. This issue is also exacerbated by the “baby boomer” generation. In the United States

alone one in 10 older adults will experience some form of mistreatment, but only one in 25 cases

will be reported (Elder Justice, 2015). Although research about elder abuse began in the early

1970’s, there has been little implemented to protect the elderly or educate families, as well as

health care professionals on how to prevent, assess, and assist these victims.

To better understand the issue of elder abuse, it is impertinent to have a clear definition.

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, elder abuse refers to intentional or neglectful

acts by a caregiver or “trusted” individual that lead to, or may lead to, harm of a vulnerable elder.

This abuse can be emotional, psychological, sexual, financial, exploitation, or abandonment. These

are the most common types (Thobaben, 2012). The abuser in these situations can be family

members, nurses, or other primary caregivers, such as their spouses (Johnson, 2001). This broad

definition of what and who can inflict this type of abuse is one of the major factors in why it is

underreported. Many parents would have a hard time turning in their son or daughter for abuse

when they spent their lives trying to raise them to be good people.

To help clarify what elder abuse is and who is most likely to experience or inflict it is key.

Elder abuse is not a crime that affects only a certain socioeconomic group, culture, or race

(Anetzberger, 1996). This is a very widespread problem. In fact, major risk factors for abuse are

things like being a woman, an older elder; because of increased physical dependency, dementia,

mental health or substance abuse issues for either the elder or caregiver, poor physical health,

patterns of physical or emotional abuse within the family, changes in living situations, and

isolation (Thobaben, 2012). Although some of these risk factors seem obvious like patterns of
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abuse in the family, some others may be less obvious like a change in living situation. This could

be due to things like not enough help or education on how to help, meaning the person taking care

of the elderly patient is unsure of what to do, possibly has other things to do, or are unable to do

these things leading to a stressful situation. A highly stressful situation can lead to an increased

risk of abuse (Blowers, Davis, Shenk, Kalaw, Smith and Jackson, 2010). Having someone rely on

you for their every need can be a very tiring and taxing job, especially if the person has a job or

children of their own, as many family members who are taking care of their aging parents often

do.

First and foremost, early and proper detection is essential to reduce its risk and prevent

occurrence. This is not what happens in most cases though. Some signs and symptoms of abuse

are poor personal hygiene, inappropriate dress, or dirt or odor on the body. However, these things

can also be symptoms of cognitive impairment, which most patients will experience in some form.

Another major marker is bruises and broken bones, which is once again a very common issue for

older patients, as they tend to bruise easier and are more prone to falls (Blowers, Davis, Shenk,

Kalaw, Smith and Jackson, 2012). To help identify this abuse can be as simple as the screening

question -- do you feel safe at home? This simple question is one of the most reliable screening

techniques, but is not particularly useful if the patient has dementia since their answer would not

be a reliable one. However, the most important factor affecting this early and proper detection is

more research and education for health care professionals (Elder Justice, 2015). The research on

this issue has been growing over the last few years, but there is still a lot that is unknown or unclear.

There has been several major legislative acts passed to help prevent abuse and protect these

elderly patients. These include the Older American Act, Elder Justice Act, Public Health Service

Act, Social Security Act, and Violence against Women Act (Dong, 2012). The Older American
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Act (OAA) includes four specific components that have significant relevance to elder abuse. In

Title II of this act, OAA authorizes American Civil Liberties to award grants, promote and expand

state comprehensive elder justice systems, access to information, reduce gaps in existing services,

and standardize collection of data relating to elder abuse (Dong, 2012). A more recent addition to

these acts to protect the elderly is the Elder Justice Act which was passed as part of the Affordable

Healthcare Act. Which for the first time allows federal response to elder abuse through training,

services, and demonstration programs. This act is intended to help a lot of elderly patients, but

funding for the majority of these programs has been minimal or recently experienced budget cuts

(Dong, 2012). Until the funding for these programs has been secured there cannot be much

improvement, which will not happen until this issue is taken seriously.

This steadily growing issue of elder abuse entails many obstacles that health care

professionals must overcome. The research and education on the issue has not been as extensive

as many other issues that face the medical profession. This is one of the countless reasons there is

not a clear cut way to detect, report, and prevent elder abuse. Because the elderly community is

not as vocal as some other groups facing similar issues does not mean that elder abuse deserves

less attention. They are some of the most vulnerable victims, the children they spent years raising

and provided for are now unable or unwilling to do the same for them.
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References

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Blowers, A. N., Davis, B., Shenk, D., Kalaw, K., Smith, M., & Jackson, K. (2012). A

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