Tackling Elder Abuse; Nurses' Role
Introduction:
As we age the incidence of illness and disability increases. This often leads to changes in living arrangements, and the ability to manage personal affairs is compromised. This means that many older adults turn the management of certain activities over to others, often opening the door to mistreatment or elder abuse (Eliopoulos 2010). Elder abuse may be defined 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 or violates their human and civil rights” (HSE, 2002a, p25). Elder abuse is a significant social challenge in contemporary western society. There were 1,870 referrals of alleged abuse made to the HSE service in 2009 (HSE, 2010).This illustrates the seriousness of the issue in Irish society today. Elder abuse takes many forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse and neglect. It can take place in the home or outside the home - in institutional care. Perpetrators of elder abuse include relatives and family members, professional staff, paid care workers, friends and associates (Leuckenotte 2000). Nurses play an important role in protecting older people from abuse. Their roles include reporting the abuse, assessing the patient, ensuring there is a safety plan in place and assessing the frequency, severity and intent of abuse (Mauk 2006). Nurses need to be educated in abuse so they can clearly and quickly recognise the signs and symptoms of suspected abuse and begin to protect patients (Daly and Coffey 2010).
Main Body:
Abuse of the older adult takes many different forms, some involving intimidation or threats against the elderly, some involving neglect, and others involving financial chicanery. It is of great importance that nurses and other healthcare professionals understand exactly what elder abuse is and are aware of local and national policies regarding the matter in
As we age the incidence of illness and disability increases. This often leads to changes in living arrangements, and the ability to manage personal affairs is compromised. This means that many older adults turn the management of certain activities over to others, often opening the door to mistreatment or elder abuse (Eliopoulos 2010). Elder abuse may be defined 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 or violates their human and civil rights” (HSE, 2002a, p25). Elder abuse is a significant social challenge in contemporary western society. There were 1,870 referrals of alleged abuse made to the HSE service in 2009 (HSE, 2010).This illustrates the seriousness of the issue in Irish society today. Elder abuse takes many forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse and neglect. It can take place in the home or outside the home - in institutional care. Perpetrators of elder abuse include relatives and family members, professional staff, paid care workers, friends and associates (Leuckenotte 2000). Nurses play an important role in protecting older people from abuse. Their roles include reporting the abuse, assessing the patient, ensuring there is a safety plan in place and assessing the frequency, severity and intent of abuse (Mauk 2006). Nurses need to be educated in abuse so they can clearly and quickly recognise the signs and symptoms of suspected abuse and begin to protect patients (Daly and Coffey 2010).
Main Body:
Abuse of the older adult takes many different forms, some involving intimidation or threats against the elderly, some involving neglect, and others involving financial chicanery. It is of great importance that nurses and other healthcare professionals understand exactly what elder abuse is and are aware of local and national policies regarding the matter in
References: · Daly, J and Coffey, A (2010) Staff perceptions of elder abuse. Nursing older people 4, Vol 22, pgs 33-37. · Duncan (2010) Study finds 18,000 experience abuse after turning 65: The Irish Times. 9th November. · Eliopoulos, C (2010) Gerontological Nursing : 7th Edition Philadelphia (USA) : Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Heath and Schofield (1999) Healthy Ageing : Nursing Older People London : Mosby. · HSE, (2002) Protecting Our Future : Report of the Working Group on Elder Abuse. · HSE (2005), Implementing ‘Protecting Our Future’ : a programme to raise awareness of elder abuse among healthcare staff. · HSE, (2010) Open Your Eyes HSE Elder Abuse Services 2009. HSE (2010) Open Your Eyes: An information booklet on elder abuse. · INO (2004), Guidelines for nurses in the understanding and prevention of elder abuse : Irish nurses Organisation, Focus group from the care of the Older Person Section. · Lueckenotte, A (2000) Gerontologic Nursing: 2nd edition. · Mauk, K (2006) Gerontological Nursing : Competencies for care London (UK) : Jones and Bartlett Publishers International. · World Health Organisation/International Network for the prevention of elder abuse. (2002) The Toronto Declaration on the Global Prevention Of Elder Abuse Active Aging, A policy Framework.