Path Toward Prevention of Senior Abuse ( USA)

Path toward prevention of senior abuse
06/18/2008, 10:10 am
By Hayley Graham Health and Environment Reporter

With a wave of baby boomers advancing in age, more senior citizens than ever may experience elder abuse.
Local experts say increasing awareness of elder abuse is key to prevention and intervention. To educate people worldwide on the abuse and neglect of seniors, the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse set last Sunday as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

There were 9,500 cases of elder abuse reported in Illinois in 2007, up from 9,191 in 2006, and the number of 2008 reports is projected to be higher. Kimberly Parker, spokeswoman for Illinois Department of Aging, said the growth is attributed to improved public awareness.
Both Kankakee and Will counties accounted for around 130 of those cases.

The number of reported cases is also expected to rise with the increasing population of seniors. By the year 2030, nearly one in five Americans will be 65 and above.
But even with the increasing number of reports, only one in seven cases of abuse are actually reported, Parker said.

"The most important message to convey is that there is help available for older adults who need assistance as well as for stressed caregivers," Parker said in an e-mail message.
Elder abuse is sometimes just thought of as physical, but the most prevalent form of abuse is financial exploitation, which is reported in nearly 60 percent of all cases in Illinois. Emotional abuse and passive neglect are both reported at a rate of about 40 percent, and about 20 percent of cases involve physical abuse.

Mary Frye, director of the Case Coordination Unit for the Senior Services Center of Will County, Inc., which investigates reports of elder abuse, said seniors are vulnerable in the sense that they trust others when they need their help.

Unlike working with abused children, seniors have to give permission for the Senior Services Center to intervene because they are adults. This can become even more challenging when the alleged abuser is related to the victim, which is the case 75 percent of the time, according to the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority.

Abridged
SOURCE: DailyJournal



---------------------------------------------------

More Recent Posts from Spotlight on Elder Abuse