About 1 in 10 people aged 60 and older who live at home experience abuse, including neglect and exploitation. Abuse can occur in many places, including in the elderly person's home, a family member's home, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home. Elder abuse can be from family members, strangers, health care providers, caregivers, or friends. In nursing homes, seniors who are isolated from friends and family are more vulnerable to abuse.
Abusers know that they are alone and are not visited often, which makes them targets of abuse, since they know that the chances of being reported or caught are low. Globally, very little is known about elder abuse and how to prevent it, particularly in developing countries. Elder abuse includes physical, emotional, or sexual harm inflicted on an older adult, financial exploitation, or neglect of their well-being by people who are directly responsible for their care. By this definition, many actions (including physical violence, verbal threats, or inattention) could be considered types of elder abuse.
The stress of caring for the elderly can lead to mental and physical health problems that leave caregivers exhausted, impatient, and more susceptible to neglecting or attacking the elderly in their care. The Nursing Home Abuse Center (NHAC) was founded to bring justice to people affected by abuse in nursing homes and nursing homes. Such contact may involve physical sexual acts, but activities such as showing an older person pornographic material, forcing the person to watch sexual acts, or forcing the person to undress are also considered sexual abuse of older persons. Globally, the number of cases of elder abuse is projected to increase, as many countries have rapidly aging populations.
Community and social factors related to elder abuse may include age discrimination against older persons and certain cultural norms (for example, desertion of an elderly person by a person who has physical custody of the elderly person or by a person who has assumed the responsibility to provide care for the elderly. While many seniors face health problems as they age, they should never have to suffer abuse or neglect. In addition, both WHO and CDC recommend reporting possible cases of elder abuse or nursing homes to senior justice hotlines. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, older women are more likely to experience abuse than men.
The 7 most common types of elder abuse include physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, self-neglect and abandonment. According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), approximately 1 in 10 Americans age 60 and older has experienced at least one type of elder abuse. Any unwanted contact, taking explicit photographs, forcing the elderly to undress, abuse and rape, is a form of sexual abuse.
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