Question

Define elder abuse, and explain what makes an older adult vulnerable. What has been done in the past, in your own state, or in another part of the world to educate, prevent, or mitigate the effects of elder abuse? Have these solutions been effective? What about current solutions? Explain if current solutions are more effective.

Answer 1

Elder abuse can be described as lack of actions in relationships which can cause stress or harm to elder people. This abuse can take multiple forms such as psychological, physical, and sexual. It can be said that urgent public health measures are needed to ensure rights of elder people.

Prevention of elder abuse should consider the cultural context and consider risk factors. For instance, Older people may be forced to marry in traditional societies. Elder Abuse is a prevalent problem in modern society as they may be considered as burdened and are often overlooked.

Following are the solutions adopted for elder abuse-

1) Caregiver interventions are often considered as first models which are the services to relieve caregiving burden, such as support groups, education, housekeeping, and are often considered as strategies for preventing abuse.

2) Early helplines can be considered as timely strategy to rule out any mistreatment and also encourage the elders to seek assistance from experts.

3) Emergency shelters, often a treatment for battered women, offer special treatment and a safe place to escape the abuse and plan accordingly for later stages of life.

The current solutions offered by various nursing homes include-

1) Elder abuse can be prevented in home by helping the elders by engaging elders, find them community resources, rule out risk factors, and consider if they are facing any financial abuse.

2) Nursing homes are installing quality monitoring systems, training employees, creating strong procedure and policies for preventing elder abuse.

3)Moreover, nursing homes pay regular visits or contact them through call, video calls, and reminders to ensure that they are doing fine.

No measure alone can be effective to prevent elder abuse. All the measures for prevention can be adopted simultaneously to prevent chances of elder abuse.