How to Identify Elder Abuse And Neglect

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse - almost half a million cases of elder abuse are reported each year.

Instructions

• 1

  Step one - Look around you, can you recognize the abusers?

  • Family members are responsible for 60% for the abuse.

  • Spouses and significant others account for 30%.

  • The rest are perpetrators are institutional staff (nursing home employees).

  There are five types of elder abuse -

  • Neglect,

  • Sexual,

  • Psychological,

  • Physical,

  • And financial.

• 2

  Step two - look around again. Can you see neglect? Neglect can be very subtle or readily visible. It can be:

  o Appearance - dirty or unkempt

  o Smells - strong smell or urine (or feces) on the person or in the home

  o Food - inadequate or inappropriate (dog food in the house when no dog is present)

  o Fluid - dehydration

  o Utilities - may be turned off

  o Medical - missed appointments, no medications

  o Glasses and hearing aids missing

• 3

  Perhaps the hardest type to understand is sexual. Look around to you see any:

  o Underwear - bloody, stained, or torn

  o Medical - recurrent genital infections, unexplained STDs, itching, bruising, or pain the genital area, and bleeding from the genital area.