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Co-occurring Disorders Among the Older Adult Population
Published in Tricia L. Chandler, Fredrick Dombrowski, Tara G. Matthews, Co-occurring Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders, 2022
Karlene Barrett, Tricia L. Chandler
As adults age, they become vulnerable to elder abuse, which can include physical, verbal, psychological, financial and sexual abuse; abandonment; neglect; and loss of dignity and respect, which also increases depression and anxiety that is often undiagnosed. Despite these issues, there is an underuse of mental health services often due to older adults holding negative views of mental illness, along with the perceived stigma and shame involved with seeking out psychiatric services (Hannaford et al., 2018; Preville et al., 2015; Segal et al., 2005). Often older adults will seek medication from primary care physicians rather than seeking psychotherapy for their mental disorders.
Trauma in the Elderly
Published in Ian Greaves, Keith Porter, Jeff Garner, Trauma Care Manual, 2021
Ian Greaves, Keith Porter, Jeff Garner
Elder abuse may be physical, sexual or emotional and is increasingly recognized when dealing with injuries in older patients. The true extent is not known as it often occurs out of sight, and patients may be reluctant to disclose it. Abuse may be defined as the wilful infliction of injury, confinement, intimidation or neglect by family members or carers. Clinicians must consider this as part of any assessment of potentially vulnerable patients.22
Ethical, professional and legal requirements to involve older adults in decisions about their care
Published in Helen Taylor, Ian Stuart-Hamilton, Assessing the Nursing and Care Needs of Older Adults, 2021
Action on Elder Abuse37 defines elder abuse as: A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older patient. Elder abuse can be physical (beating, pinching, over-sedation, giving the incorrect medication, dressing the patient inappropriately for the climate conditions), psychological (humiliating, ignoring, swearing, ‘talking over’), financial (stealing, extorting of funds), sexual (inappropriate touching, exposure, any sexual contact without consent) or neglect by caregivers (not assisting with hygiene needs, depriving of food, depriving of fluids, leaving the patient in soiled clothing). Any act by a person in a position of power that is detrimental to the humanity of an older person may constitute an act of elder abuse.37
Social Work Response to Elder Abuse in Uganda: Voices from Practitioners
Published in Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 2022
The outcomes of elder abuse are enormous, severe, and persistent, both for the victims and society; they include premature death, injury, disease, lost productivity, high risk of hospitalization, malnutrition, and deprivation of human rights and dignity (Hernandez-Tejada et al., 2020; Honarvar et al., 2020; Dong & Simon, 2013). These outcomes are diametrically opposed to the core principles of human rights, social justice, and respect for diversity – values that underpin the profession of social work (Bows & Penhale, 2018; Cox, 2020). This serves as motivation for social workers, as professionals equipped with a wide range of knowledge and theoretical base, to act in the interest of older people and protect them from any form of injustice and human rights violations. Moreover, the WHO (2017) made a clarion call to all national governments, and health and social care professionals to tackle elder abuse head-on and urgently since it is a huge public and human right concern.
Heightening our vigilance towards patient well-being
Published in International Journal of Audiology, 2021
John Greer Clark, Kristina M. English, Joseph J. Montano
Elder abuse is recognised internationally as pervasive and growing (Pillemer et al. 2016). The WHO defines elder abuse as “a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person” (World Health Organization n.d.). Such abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional/psychological or financial in nature or may manifest as either intentional or unintentional neglect of need. While noting that estimates of elder abuse are likely low due to underreporting, the WHO suggests that nearly 16% of those over 60 years of age are subjected to abuse of one form or another with the prevalence expected to increase with the rapidly aging global population (World Health Organization n.d.). Others report that as many as 25% of vulnerable adults and one-third of family caregivers have been involved in significant abuse (Cooper, Selwood, and Livingston 2008). The problem may even be more significant than thought as barriers exist for both detection and reporting of elder abuse (Schmeidel et al. 2012).
Challenges of Aging in Rural Ethiopia: “Old Age Is like the Sunset: It Brings Disrespect and Challenges”
Published in Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 2020
Abraham Zelalem, Messay Gebremariam Kotecho
The findings of this study can provide all bodies that work on issues of older people with unique information pertaining to the situation of older people in the rural areas. The bodies that can be informed by the findings of the study may include families, neighbors, communities, social workers, mass media, religious leaders, government, NGOs, and private sectors. One of the challenges of the participants, as indicated by the findings, is different types of abuse. Families, neighbors, social workers, mass media, and religious leaders can play vital role in raising awareness on elder abuse to augment veneration of older people in general. The findings of the study can help to design an intervention to address the health and socioeconomic needs of older people revealed by the study. The government should also develop a program to help poor older people in the rural areas with problems related to antiquated agricultural practices. In order to alleviate financial hardship of older people in the rural areas, government can facilitate access to credit service.