Having witnessed a grandmother complaining that her sons never visit, and that she has no one; it has become clear that one of the biggest problems that our community faces today is neglect of the elderly. The problem is large, hidden, and continues to grow. Aging issues are not only our community’s problem, but also a national concern. In addition to abandoning the elderly, seniors in our society are often overlooked by most community initiatives. Most non-governmental organizations have had a tendency to focus on matters that affect the youth rather than the elderly, implying they are less important. When they feel lonely, studies have shown that the loneliness may increase their risk of developing chronic health complications and increased mortality rates. “Social isolation also was associated with limiting longstanding illnesses such as chronic lung disease, arthritis, impaired mobility, and depressive symptoms” (Steptoe, et al. par. 5). Eliminating elderly neglect will potentially reduce health risks such as dementia and improve their psychosocial status in the community. Being that we are able to predict who is more likely to become a victim of negligence, it would be important to make some necessary steps to lessen the possibility of such an incident. The following are action plans that when implemented will help combat neglect of seniors in our community: conducting a community awareness campaign, supplying adequate social contact and spiritual support, and
In the U.S, one in four will be aged 60 years and older by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau). This represents an overwhelming number of people who will either be in the caretaker role or be the ROC. Like today, most of the care will be provided by informal unpaid caregivers. The number of informal unpaid caregivers is expected to rise from 20 million in 2000 to 37 million in 2050 (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], 2003). Because of the burden of care giving, many caregivers will experience depression, poor health and quality of life (Etters, Goodall, & Harrison, 2008). Their well-being is an important public health concern.
According to the Administration on Aging, people age 65 and older currently represent 12.9% of the population of the United States as of 2009, with that number expected to double in the next 15 years (Administration on Aging, 2014). Along with the continued rise in the population of older adults comes an increased need for services specifically addressing the needs of this population. Despite the increasing needs for services for older adults, seniors are among the most overlooked and underserved populations in the United States.
When presented with the word “elderly,” a twenty-year-old might begin to think of the joys of retirement when an older person has spent their life building a comfortable bank account; they then get to reward themselves by journeying around the world with their near and most dear companion. When reality sets in, that person may realize that a lot of today’s elderly are living in nursing homes or living week-by-week not knowing if they are going to be able to leave their hospital bed just to go relax in their recliner at home. While it is true that some elderly enjoy their last twenty or thirty years on earth, a lot of the elderly in America are struggling to hang on to life while being abused every day by healthcare workers or even loved ones. While many people have been working endlessly to put a stop to elder abuse, not everyone can say the same.
Self-neglect in the elderly is an important public health issue. It occurs more frequently than any other form of abuse or neglect and is expected to become even more prevalent as baby boomers retire and government appointed resources for the elderly decrease (MacLeod & Douthit, 2015). Elder self-neglect is a social justice issue that involves internal factors such as the health of the older adult and external factors such as access to necessary resources. For nurses to become a part of preventing
Later adulthood is the time in life when changes in marriage, families, and peer relationships are affected the most by the loss of someone close to that person. “Most people 70 years of age or older are widowed, divorced, or single” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p.619). Losing a spouse or close friend can create a sense of loneliness, which causes depression, anxiety and the emptiness feeling can become overwhelming. Depression also leads to psychological effects that will deteriorate a person’s health causing the chance for a terminal disease to become much higher. The weaker appearance of older adults causes family and remaining peers to step up in the role of making sure the person’s wellbeing is being met. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Living accommodations and healthcare needs
To conclude, the final form of abuse is neglect. Neglect is defined by the U.S. Department of Health as failure to provide, by those responsible for care, custody, and control of the child, failure to provide the proper or necessary support, education required by law, nutrition or medical, surgical, or any other care necessary for the child’s well-being. Neglect is the leading cause of child abuse and covers a broad range of acts that are seen as child maltreatment. Neglect can be in the form of physical, emotional/ psychological, medical or education. Many of these seem to overlap other forms of abuse but can be distinguished when clearly defined. Neglect is the failure to provide, causing it to be more indirect than physical or sexual abuse.
Often the elderly may decide to delegate decision making to another. In these circumstances it is important to be sure that the elderly person has not been coerced into selecting a certain individual act as a surrogate. Moreover, the elder should be continually asked for his or her viewpoint when a decision is to be made. There is a professional duty to make sure persons under their care have an adequate knowledge base in order to make informed decisions. The principle of benefice states that the actions a person takes should promote good. Furthermore, the principle of non-malfeasance sates that a person should do no harm (Ensign).
As people become older, there are a variety of things that decline with them as they grow older. Many older adults begin to become more dependent rather than independent. Many older adults become hostile when they realized that they have to rely on others to care for them. Over the years, older adults tend to neglect themselves in various ways. Older adults often forget about their medications, become depressed, and the use alcohol or abuse drugs to cope. Self neglect is a known issue in older adults. Elder self neglect is commonly known to be life threatening. According to the article Elder Self-Neglect, it states that the Public Policy Institute of AARP roughly calculates between 40% to 50% of cases reported to the Adult Protective Service involves self neglect. (“Elder Self Neglect”, 2010). http://elder.findlaw.com/elder-abuse/elder-self-neglect.html
The issue of elder abuse and neglect is a significant health care issue, that need to be brought to the attention of society. Seniors who stay at home or in nursing homes are at more risk. Nurses should be aware of the signs and symptoms as well as resources in the community. By having a better understanding of these issues, nurses can recognize problems and help prevent the devastating effects of elderly abuse.
This type of neglect may involve a “deliberate withdrawal of health services, food or other necessities” (Meadows, 200, p.88). In some ways older people seem like the perfect targets for abuse, due to their relative weakness. Active neglect may be utilized for exploitation purposes, like trying “to cash in on a life insurance policy” (Meadows, 2010, p.88). Caring for elders that are very ill or incapacitated can be daunting and become burdensome. This is when a situation may spiral out of control and lead to a passive neglect situation. Today, with the increase in life span, it only widens the opportunity for an increase in elderly victimization (Meadows, 2010). This victimization is not limited to family caregivers, it also includes institutions.
For me personally I feel that older adults need the same level of passion and concern from social workers to make a difference in their life’s. I chose this particular issue as I am interested in the impacts of loneliness, social isolation and how possible initiatives done at a macro, meso and micro level can minimise these impacts. With this research project, I aim to use the information to help assistance me within my field work placement, I will be working with older adults and such issues of loneliness and social isolation may appear, therefore having this knowledge around these issues, will be a useful tool in approaching such situations. The presentation that is required with this research project was also another influence in my rationale for choosing this topic, being able to present my findings and highlight issues that older adults face. Through this I hope that my project may spark some further interest and consideration of the importance of working with older adults in social
As we get older, our social connections often gets smaller, only having things or people that are extremely important to us. In this paper we will be examining the social-psychological problems; social isolation and loneliness that are faced by elderly by facilitating the response to five main discussion topics. The following discussion will facilitate the understanding of social isolation and loneliness, the risk factors, explore the prevalence of social isolation and loneliness in long term care facilities and the role of occupational therapist assistants and physiotherapist assistants have this emerging issue of social isolation.
I am highly touched and encouraged by your experience with the elderly and enthusiasm that you demonstrate in doing it. We honestly need people like you with open mind heart to provide care and service befitting senior citizen. Like you said, it is very disheartening to hear reports of abuse and the stereotypical behaviors towards the aged at places that are supposedly meant to provide excellent care and proper treatment. There are numerous contributing factors to this inhumane treatment of the elderly. Abuse of elders takes many different forms, some involving intimidation or threats against the elderly, some involving neglect, and others involving financial trickery. However, I see here is nothing more than what Berger (2010) described
We often see children that we wonder what could be wrong with that child, instead of wondering what happened to that child and how could we help. We live in a world where there are so many children falling through the cracks of our legal system. We have children that are abused and neglected on a daily basis, with no clear understanding of why this is happening. Could it be that the parents might have also been abused or neglected or both?
Abandonment and neglect of the elderly is the greatest injustice they suffer from individuals that care for them. Data from Sherr and Ellor’s case indicates “between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depend for care or protection”(Sherr & Ellor). As the life expectancy in the United States increases, there will be an increase in care services for the elderly. Further in a speech about the care for the elderly, Pope Francis states, “when life becomes very fragile and the end of earthly existence approaches, we feel the responsibility to assist and accompany the person in the best way” (Harris). Social workers, and members of churches need to work together to