The Difficulty of Detecting Elder Abuse

Author: recep

March 26th, 2009

The difficulty of detecting abuse and neglect varies, depending on how subtle the signs are and how willing the victim is to talk. Many victims do not disclose abuse. Some tend to hide it out of shame. Others may either feel an obligation to protect the abuser or fear retaliation. Sometimes when elderly victims do seek help, they encounter ageist responses. For example, a health care worker may unquestionably accept a relative’s statement that an elderly parent has Alzheimer’s disease (supporting the stereotype that everyone > 65 yr has some degree of dementia). Or health care personnel may dismiss the possibility of abuse because they cannot believe that an 80-yr-old husband is capable of beating his 79-yr-old wife.

Health professionals must always be alert to the possibility of elder abuse and neglect—even when the symptoms and signs are not readily apparent. A failure to be alert to these problems may mean missing the diagnosis, even when symptoms and signs are obvious. For example, a relative may bring a patient with a fracture to the emergency department and attribute the injury to a fall caused by poor balance. Although falls and osteoporosis are common in the elderly, each new fracture should be thoroughly assessed, and the possibility of abuse should be considered.

Medical personnel should ask specific questions about how the injury occurred and should avoid making assumptions based on an incomplete history or ageist stereotypes.
Isolation of the elderly victim is a common formidable barrier to detection. Factors such as retirement, loss of friends and relatives because of death and relocation, and disabilities that limit mobility tend to leave older people more isolated than younger people. Isolation tends to increase when the person is being abused because the abuser typically limits the victim’s access to the outside world (eg, denying visitors, refusing telephone calls). Indeed, the health care worker is often the only person to whom the victim has access, which emphasizes the need to be alert to the possibility of abuse. 

Abridged

SOURCE:   6zl.org

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