1.

Identify a legal or ethical issue facing the elderly, for example vulnerability, and describe ways
to address the issue

One ethical and legal issue facing the elderly is the risk of abuse. Abuse can take many forms
which include physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, emotional abuse, confinement,
neglect, and deprivation. As a person ages they are more at risk due to a myriad of issues
however per the WHO the most common risk factors are “functional dependence/disability, poor
physical health, cognitive impairment, poor mental health and low income” (WHO, 2022). This
issue is a prevalent one in the United States as the NCOA found “[a]pproximately one in 10
Americans aged 60+ have experienced some form of elder abuse” (NCOA,2021). In addition,
that “[i]n almost 60% of elder abuse and neglect incidents, the perpetrator is a family member”
and that out of those abusers “[t]wo thirds of perpetrators are adult children or spouses” (NCOA,
2021). As we can see from this the risk of abuse is a major vulnerability faced by the aging
population due to the different factors that can lead to this. This being such a prevalent issue
there are a few ways to help combat this problem. These solutions can include visiting our
family and keeping an eye out for signs of abuse, staying in regular contact, and helping to
assist them with their needs. For the aging population, prevention methods as detailed by the
NCOA include but are not limited to, “[t]aking care of your health” “[s]eeking professional help
for drug, alcohol, and depression” “[p]osting and opening your own mail” and “[s]taying active in
the community” (NCOA, 2021).

2. Discuss several factors that you consider to be most important in thinking about your own
retirement?

One factor that I consider to be important for my own retirement is putting money into a 401K or
some form of retirement fund. This is important as many elderly people struggle with financiers.
Another important factor is taking care of one’s health. By taking care of my health I hope to
avoid or minimize many of the diseases that lead to negative quality of life. Finally, being stable
in housing is an important factor of retirement. This is important as having a stable place to live
will help to avoid the stress that many aging people face which is housing insecurity.

References
NCOA. (2021, February 23). Get the Facts on Elder Abuse. The National Council on Aging.
Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.ncoa.org/article/get-the-facts-on-elder-abuse
WHO. (2022, June 13). Abuse of older people. World Health Organization. Retrieved October
28, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abuse-of-older-people