10.16: Elderly Abuse (Ob24)

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Nursing homes have been publicized as places where older adults are at risk of abuse. Abuse and neglect of nursing home residents is more often found in facilities that are run down and understaffed. However, older adults are more frequently abused by family members. The most commonly reported types of abuse are financial abuse and neglect. Victims are usually very frail and impaired and perpetrators are usually dependent on the victims for support. Prosecuting a family member who has financially abused a parent is very difficult. The victim may be reluctant to press charges and the court dockets are often very full resulting in long waits before a case is heard. Granny dumping or the practice of family members abandoning older family members with severe disabilities in emergency rooms is a growing problem. An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 are dumped each year (Tanne in Berk, 2007).