BY ANNE KYLE, THE LEADER-POST
It can happen anywhere -- in the home, in institutional care facilities, or in public -- and it can take many forms -- financial, verbal, psychological, physical, or sexual, says Gordon Roberts.
Roberts is referring to elder abuse.
"Some of it is systemic, some is the result of neglect, and there is the ageism thing,'' he said, explaining the abuser can be a family member or friend, a stranger preying on a senior's vulnerability, a trustee overseeing the elderly person's financial affairs, or a caregiver.
As regional project co-ordinator for the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE), Roberts works with a multidisciplinary team of volunteers, including retired nurses, a social worker, police officers and a physician whose objective is to generate awareness, educate the public about the signs of elder abuse, develop intervention strategies and work towards prevention of this growing problem.
"There are some tools being developed by practitioners -- health-care workers, social workers and police -- that are being rolled out to the general public in order to identify situations, abusive situations,'' Roberts said.
NICE is also working on fostering interdisciplinary teams in the care of the elderly, encouraging more health-care students to train in this specialty area, and lobbying for improved geriatric and gerontological training and policy changes to address some of the systemic abuses.
Canada to revamp its elder abuse program in terms of education material and elder abuse assessment and intervention reference guides.
As a volunteer, Roberts was asked to do presentations to the RCMP on elder abuse, which prompted him to do more research on the subject and get involved with NICE.
Elder abuse is a really complex issue, but the odds are high that you know someone who is being abused, Roberts said.
For more information about NICE and elder abuse, readers can log onto (www.nicenet.ca).
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Abridged
SOURCE: Edmonton Journal
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