Elder Abuse Essay

Abuse happens all around us and it affects all people no matter their age, race, sex, etc. It is becoming more and more common with the elderly population. “Up to 2 million older adults in the U.S. have been abused by a caregiver.” (Caple & Smith, 2017) The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines elder abuse as, “an intentional act, or failure to act, by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.” (Violence Prevention, 2017) As a person ages, they become more and more dependent on others to care for them and to help them with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, wound care, or someone who is taking medication.
Abuse can take place in multiple different forms. There is physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, neglect and abandonment. Older adults are usually abused by caregivers they trust and love, such as family or a friend. Elder abuse it not only limited to home care, but also it can be found in nursing homes. Elder abuse typically targets those who have disabilities, memory problems (dementia), or who don’t have family/friends who live farther away and cannot care for the aging individual. Most
It happens more than we think it does, especially in nursing homes when they are short staffed. I also think that a lot of the abuse is due to caregiver stress. Taking care of the elderly is a lot of work and usually it takes multiple people to care for someone. I have experiencing working with the elderly in a memory unit of a nursing home. It is not only rewarding, it also is physically and emotionally draining. Learning self-care and how to not become burnt out is very important when being a caregiver. In the beginning, it may not seem as though it is draining, however, in order to be able to care for someone else, in turn you must also care for