Elder abuse, particularly when it involves a patient in a residential care facility, can be difficult to detect and for every reported case of abuse, more than five cases may go unreported.
Nursing home abuse is a serious concern and seniors who have been abused have a 300 percent greater chance of death in the 3 years following the abuse than those who aren’t abused. Up to 1 in 6 nursing home residents may be the victim of abuse or neglect every year.
Though many residents are well-cared for, abuse continues to be more prevalent than most people wish to believe and over three-fourths of the cases of nursing home abuse are perpetrated by caregivers.
Nursing home abuse can involve
Physical Abuse is a condition or event that causes physical harm. Physical abuse may be intentional such as hitting or pinching or it may be due to neglect including overuse of restraints and lack of physical care.
Sexual Abuse is unwanted sexual attention or exploitation. This includes sexual attention given to a patient who is unable to express his or her wishes or is cognitively compromised such as the patient with dementia.
Psychological Abuse is not easily identified but can include yelling, criticizing, humiliating or otherwise shaming the patient. Patients who are experiencing psychological abuse may exhibit behavioral changes.
Financial Exploitation occurs a caregiver takes advantage of access to a patients financial matters, steals or otherwise compromises the patient’s financial status. This could include direct theft, theft from banking accounts or applying for credit in the patient’s name.
Neglect is often unintentional and a result of inadequate staffing. Neglect occurs when a patient’s needs are not taken care of such as personal hygiene care or when the patient is not provided food, clothing or water. Neglect can contribute to a number of medical conditions such as bed sores, skin infections, malnutrition and dehydration.
Resident to Resident Abuse occurs when one resident is allowed to abuse another. Resident to resident abuse may be physical, sexual or psychological. Nursing home patients should be protected from other residents.