Elderly Victims of Family Abuse,Neglect, and Maltreatment:

Analysis was conducted on 30 cases of elder abuse, neglect, and maltreatment of the elderly seen by attorneys in a legal aid agency in Detroit between 1979 and 1981. The data were collected as part of a larger study of elder abuse cases seen by a variety of agencies in the Detroit area. Analysis revealed that most of the victims suffered from more than one type of abuse or maltreatment. As might be expected, the most common type of abuse seen in the legal aid agency was financial abuse. The study also showed that a legal agency can provide a type of service other agencies cannot provide. These services include: court actions, non-court actions which require the service of a lawyer, and non-legal actions in which an attorney can bring about action through the perceived threat of court action.     

Environmental issues affecting elder abuse victims in their reception of community based services

This study examined the dominant factors that predict the utilization of services by 129 identified elder abuse victims who reside in the community. Utilizing the Andersen Model, services accepted or rejected were analyzed from individual, family and environmental perspectives. Results indicated that service utilization is related to three "need" factors: (1) Victim has cognitive and ADL impairments, (2) Victim has poor health status (self rated), and (3) The abuser is financially dependent on the victim and is also the primary caregiver of the victim. "Enabling" factor (1) Victim lives alone. "Predisposing" factors (1) Abuser is substance abuser and (2) Abuser is female. A great proportion of the elder abuse victims in this study accepted services from an agency that provided a single entry point into the service system and had highly trained personnel utilizing a case management approach.     

Violence Across the Lifespan: Interconnections Among Forms of Abuse as Described by Marginalized Canadian Elders and their Care-givers

Elder abuse is recognized as a major problem, with profoundeffects on the health and quality of life of older persons.In our aging population, elder abuse represents an escalatingclinical issue for social workers and health care professionalswho provide care to older people. A major gap in our examinationof elder abuse is the potential contribution and applicationof knowledge developed within research derived from other formsof family violence. This paper explores the interconnectionsamong various forms of violence across the lifespan, and theexperiences voiced by marginalized elders and their care providers.We interviewed seventy-seven rarely consulted older adults andforty-three formal and informal care-givers of older adultsin focus groups in Ontario and Alberta, Canada. Study findingsrevealed four major themes that describe interconnections amongtypes of abuse: (i) intergenerational cycles of abuse; (ii)violence across the lifespan; (iii) exposure to multiple subtypesof elder abuse; and (iv) ongoing spouse abuse that shifted intoelder abuse. The results from this study indicate that victimsoften ‘suffer in silence’ and cultural factors,ageism and gender are ubiquitous to elder abuse. Recommendationsto reduce elder abuse include education, formal and informalsupports and services.     

Self-determination and elder abuse do we know enough?

This article explores the principle of self-determination as it relates to victims of elder abuse and neglect. Using newspaper accounts and cases from the author's practice and consulting files, various factors influencing the professional's interpretation of this principle are explored. The notion that self-determination allows victims of abuse and neglect to refuse intervention is challenged. The author concludes that the principle of self-determination and the notion of competency are overly simplified in the social work and elder abuse literature and may be misused by allowing abused older victims to choose to remain in often life-threatening situations. Special focus is given to Adult Protection Service worker, but the author asserts that protecting older people, assisting in creative interventions and developing needed services is a shared professional responsibility.     

Elder abuse and neglect among veterans in Greater Los Angeles: prevalence, types, and intervention outcomes

This study examined the prevalence, types, and intervention outcomes of elder abuse/neglect among a veteran population. A review of medical records of 575 veterans who had received services from the Veteran's Affairs Geriatric Outpatient Clinic in Los Angeles during a three-year period found 31 veterans (5.4%) who had an elder abuse report filed on their behalf. Prevalence of elder abuse/neglect was higher among older (80+) and Caucasian and African American veterans. Eight of 31 victims suffered from more than one type of elder abuse including self-neglect. Financial abuse and self-neglect were the most commonly reported types. Family members were perpetrators in the majority of the cases, excluding self-neglect. However, three-quarters of financial abuse cases were committed by non-family members. Almost one-half of the victims had dementia and eight were clinically depressed. The most common intervention was to move victims from their unsafe home into a nursing home or board and care facility, followed by conservatorship arrangement. These interventions were most frequently used for victims with dementia, and conservatorship was often arranged with another type of intervention, such as a move to a nursing home. Victims who remained at home received conservatorship or outside supportive services or a combination of both. This study calls for more comprehensive and systematic research on elder abuse/neglect at multi-settings in order to generate useful information for prevention and detection of, and effective intervention in elder abuse and neglect in the veteran population.     

Abuse of Elderly Men and Women among Clients of a Community Psychogeriatric Service

Correspondence to Gail Wilson, Department of Social Science and Administration, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE. Summary This paper reports on a study of elder abuse among clients ofan outer London community psychogeriatric service. Staff reportedelder abuse in their caseloads over a period of one year. Reportedcases were linked with referrals. Rates of abuse for differentstaff and for different age and ethnic groups were calculated.Women were very much more likely to be abused than men and wereless likely to be abusers. Clients were frequently reportedas abusing their carers. Staff reporting rates varied widely.Training and the time available to win the trust of clientsappeared to be important variables. The staff response was limitedby lack of managerial support and by lack of developed strategiesfor dealing with abusive situations. Separation was the mostcommon response to physical violence in the home. Financialabuse was mainly dealt with by social services. Staff abusewas largely ignored.     

Psycho-educational support groups for older women victims of family mistreatment: a pilot study

Few programs for domestic violence victims have been evaluated for effectiveness. This gap is even more pronounced for elder abuse service interventions. The study presented here is intended to address this gap by using an experimental research design to evaluate outcomes of an elder mistreatment psycho-social support group pilot for cognitively unimpaired older female victims of mistreatment by family members and significant others for whom they are providing care or support. The support group model used for the study adapts amodel designed by NOVA House, an elder abuse shelter program in Manitoba, Canada. The study was funded by the Hartford Foundation Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars Program. While the significance of study findings is limited by the small number of pilot participants, the model intervention and evaluation instrument developed for the study may be utilized for study replication.     

Service workers' responses to abuse of the elderly

The social service providers and physicians who encounter elder abuse have several potential avenues of intervention open to them in helping the elderly. Practice and training issues are discussed that are relevant for improving interventions and referrals in cases of family abuse of the elderly.     

Elder Abuse in Turkey and Associated Risk Factors

Abstract

Elder abuse is one of the most important problems encountered by the elderly. Health, economical and psychological dimensions of the experience of aging also pose risk for elder abuse. This study aims to determine the abuse to which elder people are exposed based upon their own evaluations and to investigate the risk factors associated with elder abuse. This is a cross-sectional study among quantitative designs. Population of the study comprises 309 outpatient elders over the age of 65 referring to Ayd?n Do?an Geriatrics Clinic of Ankara University, Turkey. Collected data were analyzed by chi-square test and logistic regression. In total, 70.9% of the elderly participating in this study experienced abuse more than once. Majority of the participants were victims of emotional abuse (64.1%), followed by neglect and abandonment (26.9%) and economic abuse (12.6%). There was significant relation between sex, marital status, health status of the elderly and being abused (p?p?相似文献   

Hearing the voices of abused older women

This paper focuses on a qualitative research process that gathered responses from 64 older women aged fifty and older on their experience of violence and abuse. What older women said about abuse in their lives supports the use of a feminist framework as well as the age based analysis of the elder abuse field. Some respondents spoke of abuse from childhood into their later years. Some spoke of partners witnessing or experiencing abuse as children. Some women express concern about possible abuse by their adult children of their own children. Abused older women like younger women need a safe environment, emotional support, advocacy, information, and peer support. While it is important to consider the perspectives and knowledge of service providers when developing policy and practice on abuse of older women, it is critical to ask the women survivors of abuse or neglect what they believe would benefit them, and others in similar situations.     

Hybridization in China's elder care service provision

Although the party‐state has embarked on a mission to increase elder care services, evaluating this development according to different sectors demonstrates certain challenges. Official statistics do not include sector‐specific information, and while provider websites suggest that elder care services are largely in public hands, Chinese experts argue that they are mostly “civilian‐run.” How can we explain these discrepancies in data on Chinese elder care? Drawing on the concept of hybridization and triangulating quantitative and qualitative data, I argue that the party‐state's efforts to “socialize” elder care provision has resulted in hybridization within the industry which blurs the line between care providers and obfuscates the stark role of the state in elder care service provision. During the implementation of state‐initiated hybridization, providers misclassify their ownership type to benefit from financial incentives or circumvent political control, resulting in even greater hybridization and fragmentation on the ground.     

Hearing the Voices of Abused Older Women

Summary

This paper focuses on a qualitative research process that gathered responses from 64 older women aged fifty and older on their experience of violence and abuse. What older women said about abuse in their lives supports the use of a feminist framework as well as the age based analysis of the elder abuse field. Some respondents spoke of abuse from childhood into their later years. Some spoke of partners witnessing or experiencing abuse as children. Some women express concern about possible abuse by their adult children of their own children.

Abused older women like younger women need a safe environment, emotional support, advocacy, information, and peer support. While it is important to consider the perspectives and knowledge of service providers when developing policy and practice on abuse of older women, it is critical to ask the women survivors of abuse or neglect what they believe would benefit them, and others in similar situations.     

Contributors to Reunification or Permanent Out-of-Home Care for Physically Abused Children

This paper presents data on the outcomes of reunification or permanent out-of-home plans from physical abuse cases served under permanency planning. Client and service characteristics discriminated between placement outcomes with more severe abuse; the child's older age, poor school behavior, lower SES, and intensive contract services associated with permanent out-of-home placement and intensive direct services associated with reunification. Implications for service delivery are discussed.     

Validation Study: The Iranian Version of Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) among Family Caregivers of Elderly with Dementia

Since abuse screening is difficult among the elderly with dementia, detection of elder abuse is a serious issue; meanwhile, the number of available tools to assess elder abuse by caregivers is limited. The aim was to evaluate validity and reliability of the Iranian version Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) tool. After the translating process of the tool to the Farsi language for 236 dementia participants ≥60 years old and their informal caregivers’ from outpatient’ clinics, in a cross-sectional method then the validity, reliability and factorial structure of the CASE was evaluated. The translated Iranian version CASE reveals a good psychometric property (α = 0.868) with strong internal consistency and reliability. Some variables (depression, burden, dementia intensity, and ADLs) were associated with abuse in dementia elderly. The two-factor structure was obtained in exploratory factor analysis labeled interpersonal abuse and neglect. Generally, the Iranian version of CASE approved with sufficient validity and reliability as a suitable instrument to find the risk of elder abuse among dementia caregivers.     

An Elder Abuse Case Study

Abstract

This article explores elder abuse from the perspective of caregiver stress and domestic violence theories. The author proposes that the theory of caregiver stress has shaped the elder abuse laws and the practice field, raising some important questions for examination. The need for policymakers and practitioners to evaluate their applied theory(ies) so they may better advocate for needed changes in policies and laws is examined by using a case example. In conclusion, the author suggests that the elder abuse protection field must consider the underutilized concepts of domestic violence theory for policy development, case assessments, and intervention strategies.     

Ecological factors associated with elder abuse in Taiwan: a systematic review

Elder abuse is a serious issue in Taiwan because of rapid growth among the aging population and the deterioration of traditional values. Understanding of elder abuse in Taiwan has been fragmented, as a bulk of studies have primarily focused on socio-demographic characteristics and past childhood abuse. Only a handful of studies have focused on the environmental contexts. To address this research gap, we systematically review the prevalence, socio-demographic characteristics, and risk factors associated with elder abuse in Taiwan by applying Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework. Twenty-nine research articles are reviewed to address this research gap. Practice and policy implications are also discussed.     

An Ethical Dilemma in Elder Abuse

Abstract

While most elder abuse is perpetrated by family members, some may be performed by strangers. When the elderly victim reaches out to the social agency but then refuses services, an ethical dilemma is created for the social worker. Conflicts arise among social work values and the ethical principles of autonomy and paternalism, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. A model of ethical justification is applied that explains the possible decisions in this case. The actual resolution of the dilemma is accomplished through a social work practice principle.     

Use of a single page elder abuse assessment and management tool: a practical clinician's approach to identifying elder mistreatment

Elder abuse is a growing, alarming public health issue. As health care professionals, our challenge is to balance our duty to protect the safety of the vulnerable elder with the elder's right to self-determination. Clinicians in busy practice settings across the continuum of care as well as community-based social workers, emergency medical system, police, and banking personnel are collaborative partners needing tools that focus on early recognition, assessment, intervention, and management of elder abuse. A simple one-page tool that provides principles of assessment and management, best practice guidelines and screening questions will hopefully serve to raise awareness of this important public health issue and maintain a high index of suspicion for elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.     

Self-Neglect and Neglect of Vulnerable Older Adults: Reexamination of Etiology

Using assessment and investigation data from the reported APS cases in Texas, this study examines the types of elder self-neglect and neglect, including medical neglect. It then examines the association between self-neglect and neglect and individual economic resources as well as health care and social service programs for the poor. The findings show that elder self-neglect/neglect is, in large part, attributable to frail older adults' and their families' lack of resources to pay for essential goods and services and the inadequate healthcare and other formal support programs for the older adults and their caregivers. This inadequate public policy coverage, rather than individual and intrafamily risk factors per se, needs to be considered as a significant cause of elder self-neglect/neglect.