Key NYC Organizations Raise Awareness About Elder Abuse

February 14, 2013
by Cara Kenien, LMSW, MPA, Social Media Manager, NYCEAC

New York Nonprofit Press recently featured Hidden in Plain Sight: The Elder Abuse Crisis, an article written by Bobbie Sackman, Donna Dougherty andKen Onaitis, all of whom are NYC Elder Abuse Center partners. The authors provide an overview of the prevalence of elder abuse, present reasons why elder abuse remains unrecognized and under-reported, outline future direction for the elder justice field.
The article provides an overview of the  New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study, which was conducted in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medical College’s Division of Geriatrics, Lifespan and the NYC Department for the Aging and involved interviewing 4,000 older adults. This study reveals staggering numbers of older New Yorkers – 260,000 each year – who have confronted abuse, neglect and exploitation, with many suffering in silence.
The authors highlight the types of elder abuse – physical, financial, sexual, emotional and verbal – and note that elder financial abuse is currently the most prevalent form of elder abuse in New York State.  Older adults have experienced situations in which they have been forced or tricked into giving their cash, social security benefits, savings or homes to their abusers. Given that we know older adults are facing painful situations and so many have suffered from abuse, the authors pose the following question: “How is it that so few of us recognize the widespread abuse to which so many of our elders are subjected?”

Reasons elder abuse remains under recognized & under-reported
• Financial abuse can be difficult for friends, neighbors, or family members to recognize.
• Elder abuse can be difficult to detect.
• Ageism often leads others to disregard what an older adult is saying.
• Elders rarely report their abuse and neglect.

Further details about each of the above can be found in the article.
Future Directions Identified by the Authors
1. Foster an acknowledgment and heightened awareness among the general public that elder abuse is a real and widespread problem that affects victims and their families.
2. Continue building partnerships with the domestic violence community to address elder abuse issues and share expertise.
3. Mobilize a “community watch” that observes, identifies and reports potential cases of elder abuse for investigation by trained professionals.
4. Break down the legal and institutional barriers that prevent elders from seeking or getting help.
5. Advocate for an allocation of the necessary resources to address this serious and widespread problem.  Locally, the Bloomberg administration must baseline the $800,000 allocation which currently funds all elder abuse prevention work by local nonprofit agencies in NYC.
Click here to read the entire article.

SOURCE:        NYC ELDER ABUSE CENTER

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Caregivers: Spotting & Preventing Financial Elder Abuse

12/20/2012
by Sally Abrahms

What if something just doesn’t feel right or your parents’, relative or friend’s finances aren’t adding up? Could it be a professional caregiver, someone who has befriended them recently, or, perish the thought, even your own flesh and blood, who is cooking the books or sporting a cushy lifestyle at your expense? Could it befinancial exploitation?
As important as checking out a relative’s physical environment and their health is making sure their money is safe. Just in time for the holidays, the government’s Eldercare Locator, administered by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the National Center on Elder Abuse, have released a free brochure. Protect Your Pocketbook: Tips to Avoid Financial Exploitation lists warning signs, an action plan to prevent it, and where to go if  your relative (or you) is a victim.
Not your parent? Government figures show as many as five million older adults annually are victims of financial elder abuse, costing them an estimated $3 billion a year.
A financial planner recently told me that he has colleagues in the money business whose own elderly (and vulnerable) parents have been victims of greedy and unscrupulous predators.  So if it can happen to them, guys. . .
Here’s a preview of potential signs:
• Spend-away activity that doesn’t match your parent’s personality, increased credit card expenses or withdrawals and newly authorized signers on accounts
• Recent changes in property title, deeds, mortgages, wills, trusts, Power of Attorney and other important documents.
• A granddaughter age new “girlfriend” who suddenly becomes chummy with Dad.
To avert a problem:
• Make sure your relative is capable of managing his/her finances. If not, can someone trustworthy in the family do it or should you hire a money manager?
• Do they have an estate plan? Ask a lawyer about a durable power of attorney for asset management, a living will, trusts and a health care advance directive.
• Make sure they don’t give their Social Security, credit card or ATM PIN number over the phone to a caller, shred bank statements and credit card receipts; get a criminal background check for caregivers.
And if:
• Call the Eldercare Locator at 800 677-1116 to connect you with local resources such as Adult Protective Services and an ombudsmen for those in long-term care.
• If you sense danger, call your local police at 911.
Fascinating: University of California, Los Angeles, researchers believe neurological brain changes in older people may make them more vulnerable to fraud. Read why.

SOURCE:      AARP BLOG
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Pattern of Broken Bones, Brain Injuries Flags Possible Elder Abuse: STUDY

Pattern of broken bones, brain injuries flags possible elder abuse: study
Sheryl Ubelacker
 
November 27, 2012

TORONTO - Older people who have a wrist or hip fracture often get such injuries after taking a fall. But researchers say there's a distinct pattern of broken bones and bruises that suggests something more sinister — elder abuse.
After reviewing international medical literature and Ontario coroner's reports, Dr. Kieran Murphy and colleagues saw the same pattern of fractures and soft-tissue injuries over and over again.
"There is indeed a typical distribution of injuries that are seen radiologically in the elderly who are beaten," said Murphy, a radiologist at the University Health Network in Toronto. "So they have injuries around their eyes, they have injuries to their teeth.
"They may have shaking injuries which cause bleeds (inside) the head called subdurals, they may have soft-tissue injuries and upper extremities injuries," he added.
Murphy and his team reviewed more than 1,100 cases of abuse in people over age 60. Their findings will be presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.
Their analysis also showed that these elderly abuse victims were most often in a home setting being cared for by non-professionals, such as a family member or other untrained caregiver.
Often the offender is financially dependent on the older person and may have an alcohol or drug addiction, he said. The person being assaulted is debilitated in some way, by dementia or the effects of a stroke, for example.
"If you factor in these different issues, you can come up with a fairly accurate likelihood that somebody's injuries are non-accidental," Murphy said.
"Older people fall and they fall on an outstretched hand and they break their wrist or they break their hip. Those are normal elderly fractures.
"They don't usually break their scapula (shoulder blade). But if somebody hits them in the back, they might break that. Or they don't normally break their orbit (bony eye socket). But if somebody punches them in the face, they'll break that."
Murphy said he hopes the study will help radiologists and other physicians recognize what could be signs of elder abuse, which is significantly under-reported.
"Radiologists need to be aware of the pattern of injuries frequently seen in the abused elderly,” he said. “More importantly, we need to integrate the physical and radiological findings with the social context of the patient to help identify those at risk."
Irmajean Bajnok of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, calls elder abuse a "silent epidemic" because it appears only a small percentage of cases are ever reported.
"The older persons are in vulnerable situations, they're not likely to report this," Bajnok, the RNAO's director of international affairs and best practice guidelines, said Monday.
"And regardless of where it happens, it can easily be linked to 'Oh, they fell' or 'They're bumping into this,' so that it goes undetected."
Bajnok said elderly patients need to be assessed by health providers that are aware of the signs of elder abuse and can ask directly: "Has anyone ever hurt you?"
Nurses are among those ideally placed to look for elder abuse, she said, but pointed out the issue is complex.
Caregivers, both in the home and in long-term care facilities, can experience tremendous frustration in trying to look after elderly patients with complicated medical conditions that can include dementia.
But instead of pointing fingers of blame, it's more constructive to look for what triggers incidents of abuse and to figure out ways to train caregivers to de-escalate situations that could lead to physical maltreatment.
"We need to start dealing with the solutions," she said.
"It's a lot harder than saying: 'Oh my goodness, people are hitting older people. Let's stop it.'
© The Canadian Press, 2012

SOURCE:    GlobalTVEdmonton
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Sons are Major Abusers of Elderly Parents in India

Sons are major abusers of elderly parents in India
26 per cent said verbal abuse was very common
IANS
September 30, 2012
GULF NEWS

New Delhi: A large percentage of India’s elderly face abuse from their sons, rather than their daughters-in-law, with financial dependence being one of the main reasons for neglect and abuse.
While the government gives a paltry monthly pension of Rs.200 (Dh13) to those over 60 years in below-poverty-line (BPL) families, social activists are fighting for raising this to Rs.2,000 a month for all the elderly, irrespective of economic background.
October 1 is the International Day of the Elderly.
A survey conducted by HelpAge India on elder abuse indicates that the elderly suffer abuse silently — mostly at the hands of their sons.
There is a common belief that only daughters-in-law abuse elders. On the contrary, 56 per cent of those surveyed felt it was their sons who abuse them; daughters-in-law scored as low as 23 per cent,” Mathew Cherian, chief executive of HelpAge India, told IANS.
Over 44 per cent of the elderly said disrespect was the most common form of abuse, while 30 per cent said it was neglect and 26 per cent said verbal abuse was very common.
The report is based on a survey across 20 major cities, with a sample size of 5,600 and 280 elders per city.
Only a few of the elderly were willing to accept they faced abuse in some form while others chose to keep mum for the sake of family honour.
“Nearly 33 per cent of them are living without their children. Around 22 million widows, fairly a large group, have no form of subsistence. The widow’s pension reaches only about 10 per cent of the widows,” said Cherian.
“Overall, the situation of the elderly in the country is very bleak,” he added.
Financial burden is one of the main reasons for the neglect and abuse. Experts say universal old age pension would help the elders in a big way.
While a majority of the elderly know the police helpline numbers and services, they never call up — “for the sake of family honour”.
An activist of Pension Parishad, an initiative to ensure universal pension to all workers in India, told IANS: “Under the Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme those above 60 get Rs.200 a month and those above 80 get Rs.500 per month as pension.
“This amount is too less and the scheme covers only below-poverty line citizens. Only 18 million of the elderly population benefit from this scheme. We are demanding a programme for pension irrespective of whether a person belongs to below poverty line or above poverty line.”
The activist who did not want to be named said union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the Rs.200 pension amount was “an insult” to the individual since it’s too low an amount.
While the Pension Parishad, of which social activist Aruna Roy is a member, is fighting for reducing the age limit for pensions to 55, Minister Jairam Ramesh is not in agreement. He wants it to remain at 60 years.
According to Cherian, the government should implement universal pension and health insurance. “Only then will the situation of elders who are 60-plus be better,” Cherian said.
The HelpAge report also said that around 62 per cent elderly felt that children needed to be sensitised to prevent elder abuse and the inter-generational bonding strengthened. However, 38 per cent felt that only economic independence would solve the problem.
The activist added that the government had to increase more health insurance packages which are tailor-made for people who can only afford low premiums.
The report says that Madhya Pradesh tops elder abuse cases with 77.12 per cent. This is followed by Assam — 60.55 per cent, Uttar Pradesh — 52 percent, Gujarat — 42.97 per cent, and the lowest is Rajasthan — 1.6 per cent. The national capital, including the National Capital Region (NCR), has 29.82 per cent cases.
Of those interviewed in Delhi and NCR, 30 per cent admitted to facing abuse. The primary perpetrators of abuse were sons in 60 per cent cases, followed by daughters-in-law in 24 per cent cases.

 SOURCE:     Gulf News
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New Research: 40 Percent of Elderly Latinos Abused (TX. USA)

 New Research: 40 Percent of Elderly Latinos Abused
July 30, 2012

AUSTIN, Texas

A new study of elderly, low-income Latinos reveals significantly higher rates of abuse, neglect and exploitation than previous estimates. The report's lead author, Marguerite DeLiema, University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology, says that, at first glance, abuse of Latino seniors appears to be almost four times more prevalent than elder abuse in the general population.

"One in 10 older adults suffers from some form of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Our study was much higher. We found 40 percent of the Latino population reported at least one form of elder abuse."
She thinks it's possible that her research - based on detailed, in-person interviews by community members - reflects a higher elder abuse rate among the population at large than past studies have been able to document. She says mistreatment need not be physical to qualify as abuse. Family members may repeatedly threaten to send seniors to nursing homes, or take advantage of financial vulnerabilities.

The study calls into question past assumptions that elderly Latinos are shielded from abuse by cultural norms, such as family loyalty. Sometimes solidarity just leads to silence, according to Sandra Garcia Huhn, staff attorney with the Texas Legal Services Center Elder Exploitation Project.

"I think that there is a reluctance by the Hispanic community to discuss problems outside of the family. A lot of times when there is abuse or exploitation they're not reporting it, because they want to protect the family member."

The new study found that about 10 percent of those surveyed revealed physical abuse, 17 percent had been exploited financially, and 12 percent had been neglected by caretakers. But only 1.5 percent of all victims had ever reported the abuse to authorities or service organizations.


She encourages Texas seniors or concerned loved ones to call the toll-free Elder Exploitation Hotline to find out about a variety of resources for victims of scams, financial manipulation or physical, sexual and emotional abuse. That number is 888-612-6626.

Information about the study is available at http://bit.ly/NNYACb. The TEEP website is based at www.tlsc.org.
Peter Malof, Public News Service - TX


 Abridged
SOURCE:      The PublicNewsService
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Who's Watching Mom?

Who’s Watching Mom?
By JUDITH GRAHAM
July 19, 2012

My mom, who had multiple sclerosis, depended on private duty companions at home — first part-time, then full-time — for nearly 30 years.
Some of these women stole from her. Some ordered groceries on her dime and carried them away at the end of a shift.
Some ignored her cries for assistance when they didn’t feel like getting out of a chair. (How did we know? The phone was next to the bed. There would be a call.) Some were disrespectful and made her feel discounted.
How many caregivers did we go through before we found two wonderful ladies — one from the South Side of Chicago, one from the Philippines — who cared for mom reliably and with considerable sensitivity during the last 20 years of her life? I have no idea. Who wants to remember?
I thought of those long-ago hardships last week when a new study by researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine landed on my desk. It’s an eye-opening look at agencies that supply caregivers, companions, homemakers, personal care attendants and non-nursing home health aides to people who need help living independently at home. (Medicare-certified home health agencies, which are federally regulated and provide licensed nurses, were not included in the report.)
This is a fast-growing, almost entirely unregulated business that serves frail seniors with remarkably little oversight or meaningful consumer protection. Consider the study’s findings, based on interviews with 180 agencies in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
For the interviews, researchers posed as family members seeking information about caregivers’ qualifications. While this may have biased results, it provides an indication of the kind of issues families can encounter when trying to find reliable help.
•    Only 16.5 percent of agencies tested potential caregivers’ basic knowledge about the job and its requirements.
•    No agencies assessed potential caregivers’ “health literacy” – their ability to understand medical terms and instructions.
•    Only 32 percent of agencies performed drug tests on applicants for caregiver positions.
•    No agencies performed criminal background checks on applicants in states other than the one in which they were operating.
•    Only 15 percent of agencies provided some type of training before sending a caregiver into someone’s home.
•    More than half relied on caregivers’ own assessment of their skills – their ability to administer medications, provide dementia care, or transfer someone from chair to bed, for instance – without independent verification.
•    Only 23 percent of agencies supervised caregivers by sending someone to the home monthly to check up on them.

 Abridged
SOURCE:     The NewOldAge Blog NEW YORK TIMES

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UK Study on Elder Abuse Shows Need to Improve Local Councils

July 9, 2012

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears

After finding that they lacked strong purpose and coordination, a University of Kentucky researcher is working to improve Kentucky's 27 local councils on elder abuse.
The study, Combating Elder Abuse In Kentucky, led by Pam Teaster, found that Kentucky's Local Coordinating Councils on Elder Abuse also lacked participation from crucial members and funding to achieve their goals, and that they needed recognition and direction.
The focus of the councils, which were developed at the direction of the Kentucky Elder Abuse Committee, are prevention, intervention and resource development aimed at ending abuse. Their members are professionals from a variety of disciplines and members of the public.
Some councils have done especially good work, said Teaster, associate dean for research in UK's College of Public Health.
The councils "do a lot to raise awareness," she said.
Work of the Louisville Metro Council in Jefferson County, for example, led to the 2011 passage of a bill that prohibits those who exploit victims from inheriting the victims' estates.
But a survey of the councils by Teaster showed that most do not review cases.
Teaster said that starting this year, the councils will develop new measures of success and she will track the councils for three years so they will have an effect on elder abuse in Kentucky. Their outcomes will be measured against state Cabinet for Health and Family Services' Adult Protective Services reports, investigations and substantiations.
"They need to have measures ... that produce an effect," Teaster said.
Teaster said elder abuse councils are hampered because the General Assembly has never provided money for them. They "are having to figure out ways to fund-raise all the time," Teaster said.
Teaster's research was financed with a $10,000 grant from UK's Commonwealth Collaborative Fund for community engagement.

 SOURCE:       The Kentucky
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The Nature of Violent Crimes Against the Elderly (USA)

July 3, 2012
by CrimeCents

What with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and the Karen Klein story, elder abuse is suddenly in the spotlight.
Unfortunately, there is no national data source that gives a quantitative overview of elder abuse. The two biggest sources of crime data in this country – the FBI’s UCR data and the National Crime Victimization Survey — don’t really address the issue very well.
Instead, the Bureau of Justice Statistics recently released a report based on National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) which did collect complete elder victimization data for Michigan from 2005-2009. NIBRS, which is similar to the UCR data, captures additional details and information.
Here are some of the highlights:
•    Half (49.5%) of violent victimizations of the elderly known to law enforcement in Michigan involved serious violence— murder, rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and kidnapping.
•    Three out of 10 elderly victims of reported violence were victimized by their own child or grandchild.
•    More than a third of violent victimizations of elderly women (37.8%) involved the victim’s child or grandchild, compared to less than a quarter of victimizations of elderly men (22.5%).
•    The rate of reported violence against elderly men (247.7 per 100,000 males age 65 or older) was 1.4 times higher than the rate for elderly women (172.9 per 100,000 women age 65 or older).
•    The rate of reported violent victimization by a stranger was more than 2 times greater for elderly men (65.5 per 100,000 males age 65 or older) than for elderly women (29.2 per 100,000 women age 65 or older).
Some of this is not surprising to me. Of course elderly women are more commonly victimized by people they know, their only family members. This is true of women and girls of all ages. But I am surprised at the rates of violence against elderly men by strangers. I would have thought the numbers would be lower.

 SOURCE:        The CrimeDime

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Help Age: 31% of Senior Citizens Face Abuse in India

HelpAge India survey reveals disquieting facts
16 Jun 2012
By Shukti Sarma 

According to the latest data released by HelpAge India, 31% of the elderly in the country face some form of abuse. Bhopal, apparently, is the worst offender, with and astounding 77.12% of the senior citizens living in the city facing abuse. The report was released on 15th June, which is marked as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The other cities that have a high incidence of elderly abuse are : Guwahati(60.55%), followed by Lucknow(52%). Delhi has seen a significant rise in this area: with 29.8% senior citizens saying they have faced abuse; compared to 12% last year. In Mumbai, 29.46% seniors faced abuse while in Chennai 27.56% did.
The report says that of these victims, 75% live with their immediate families, and 69% own the homes they live in. Pan-India, it is seen that the abuse often comes from sources people trust: the abusers are sons in 56% of the cases, daughter-in-laws on 23% cases and 24% of the victims faced abuse on a daily basis.
Elderly women are more vulnerable to abuse than men. HelpAge India’s report shows that more than half of the senior citizens have been subjected to abuse for more than five years. Almost 44% of the elderly said that disrespect was the dominant form of abuse, and 30% said that they were faced with verbal abuse and neglect.
Only 45% of the senior citizens, who faced abuse, have reported it. For others, reporting their plight was not an option because it will bring infamy to the family name. However, in such cases, ‘reporting’ usually meant talking about it to a family member or a relative. Despite the existence of helplines, NGOs or legal authorities, the elderly did not seek any social or legal intervention.

 SOURCE:     BusinessReview India
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Who Cares for the Carers (UK)

Who cares for the carers?
May 26, 2012
Caring for a loved one is difficult at the best of times, but reduced services, economic insecurity and an ageing population have made life tougher for people minding elderly or disabled relatives. ROSITA BOLAND looks at carers’ changing role
FAMILY CARERS ARE often invisible, under the radar, even though their numbers are increasing all the time. In the 2006 census, 160,917 citizens identified themselves as carers. The figure for last year’s census, which will be published in November, is expected to be much higher, at about 8 per cent of the adult population, according to a recent Quarterly National Household Survey. Yet despite the growing number of people who care for their parents, spouses, children and other family members, fewer resources have been available to support them since the cuts in public spending.
This year alone the HSE’s National Service Plan, which aims to save €750 million, includes 500,000 fewer hours of home help, a vital service for many carers. Other planned cuts include the closure of up to 900 public nursing-home beds. By the end of this year, 630 private beds from the Fair Deal nursing-home scheme, which helps provide affordable private nursing-home care, will also have been cut.
“A third of carers are older people, so emigration of family members is placing an additional burden on these people. It’s another layer of support going out of the network and makes life harder for them,” says Eamon Timmins of Age Action Ireland.
“We’re also seeing an older generation emigrate this time, along with younger people, which wasn’t the case in the 1980s. The parents of those older children wouldn’t have been expecting them to go now.
“And if you look at our ageing population, and the current numbers of younger people emigrating, then you have to ask the question: who’s going to be stepping in to help care for parents in the future?”
MANY PEOPLE DO NOT want to contemplate the difficult, emotive questions around health. Who’s going to take care of you when you’re elderly? What will happen if you have a serious long-term illness long before you’re elderly? Can, or will, someone in your family take responsibility for a relative, such as a parent, who can no longer take care of themselves?
It is human nature to hope for the best of health throughout life. Nobody chooses to think of themselves as becoming ill or dependent, or to think of the people closest to them being in that situation either. But people can fall ill at any stage of life, and they do get old.
Keeping people, particularly older people, at home as long as possible and out of institutions is agreed to be the best model of care. It also saves the State a considerable sum of money.
The Carers Association is a countrywide organisation with 16 support centres. In 2009, it published a report, Carers in Ireland: A Statistical and Geographical Overview. Using data from the 2006 census, the association estimated that carers were contributing 3.7 million hours of care a week, worth €2.5 billion a year. It estimates that carers now save the State €4 billion a year.
Along with other advocacy organisations, the Carers Association campaigned for a change to the census question asked of carers: “Do you provide regular unpaid personal help for a friend or family member with a long-term illness, health problem or disability?” qualified by a note: “Include problems which are due to old age. Personal help includes help with basic tasks such as feeding or dressing.” The question was asked only of people over 15.
Last year the question was also asked of under-15s. In November, when the CSO releases its carers data, the number of young carers will become known for the first time.

 Abridged
SOURCE:       The IrishTimes
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Pensioner Paradise Bangalore Turns a Hell Hole (INDIA)

May 11, 2012
By Subir Ghosh

It’s more than an irony. It’s, in fact, tragic that the city once known as a pensioner’s paradise today ranks first when it comes to abuse of the elderly.
A recent study on the state of the elderly in nine cities conducted by HelpAge India found that abuses are reported the highest in Bangalore (44%), compared to the national average of 22%. The other eight cities in the survey were Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Chennai, Patna and Hyderabad.
Though 84% of the elderly surveyed in Bangalore are married (against a national average of 60.3%), 68% live with their son(s) and 18% with their daughters. The national figures are 71.6 and 12.5% respectively.
Close to half (45%) of the senior citizens are classified as ‘unskilled workers’ and 26% ‘skilled’. Another 22% are homemakers. Only 21% remain involved in any kind of economic activity.
Remittances from children is the main source of income for most (34%) against a national average of 54.6%. Pension comes in next with 33%. Compared to other cities, people living on pensions as against remittances from their children still remains on the higher side. That’s where the ‘pensioners’ paradise’ sobriquet ends. An overwhelming proportion (68%) live in rented accommodations against a national average of only 29.8%).
HelpAge asked elders about their understanding of elder abuse. The category that came on top was ‘showing disrespect’, followed by ‘physical abuse’ and ‘emotional abuse’.
And, whatever the perception of abuse, it is worsening. Three of every four elderly felt that abuses had gone up in the previous three years.
Bangalore also tops in ‘emotional abuse’ being reported as the worst form of abuse they encounter – a full hundred%.
The national average is only a paltry 25.8%. One of the reasons for this seemingly anomalous figure, a HelpAge official said, is that the reporting of cases is probably higher in Bangalore than elsewhere. Nine out of ten elderly say ‘verbal abuse’ is the second most prevalent way of abusing elders.
There’s rampant physical abuse too. Among those who experienced this, 56.2% complained of beating, and 50% of restricted movements within the house. Bangalore is also high in economic abuse. Two in three said these came in the form of illegal taking over of their property by their children. The same proportion also spoke of their personal belongings being taken away from them.
And where this abuse comes from? It – hold your breath – actually begins at home. Roughly 57% said it came from their son(s), and 20.4% attributed the trauma to both their daughters and sons-in-law.
Yet, there’s no escape. Some 77.2% ‘did not do anything’ after an abuse. Those elsewhere are better placed with an average of 53.4%. There aren’t many around to talk to either. Less than 5% discuss the problem with anyone in Bangalore. Elsewhere it is 25%.
Not that such moves pay off either. All those who complained to the police said that they had to spend a lot of money both on lawyers as well as bribes to the police, besides the situation becoming aggravated thereafter. The paradise, probably has been lost.

 SOURCE:     The Daily News and Analysis, India

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Suing Nursing Homes (CA. USA)

04/27/2012
Carole Herman
Founder and President of The Foundation Aiding The Elderly

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA), the first major version of the Federal standards for nursing home care since the 1965 creation of both Medicare and Medicaid (MediCal in California). Care facilities wanting Medicare and Medicaid funding were to provide services so that each nursing home patient could attain and maintain the highest physical, mental and psycho-social wellbeing. However, 25 years later, poor care and neglect are still too common an occurrence in the approximately 16,000 nursing homes in the United States.
Why is this poor care and abuse still occurring? There are many reasons why and at the top of the list is the fact that state agencies responsible for overseeing nursing home care often fail to make sure problems in the facilities are corrected. A huge qualifier is the lack of staffing. If a facility is insufficiently staffed, as most are, odds are that care is not being provided and patients are suffering because of it. The majority of the hands-on care in nursing homes is provided by the Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). A CNA who has 15 or more patients to care for during a shift cannot possibly give the proper care and attention that the patient requires. Yet, the regulators are not slapping the hands of the operators for not providing sufficient staff to meet the needs of the patients. And who is the one responsible for the lack of staff? It is the operator who cuts the high-costs of staffing in order to obtain bottom-line profits.
Back in 2007, because of California's failure to regulate nursing home staffing requirements, FATE brought a lawsuit to force the California Department of Public Health to set regulations establishing minimum staff-to-patient ratios as required by state law. The staffing ratios law in California was to become effective in 2003; however, as of the first of November 2006, the policy had never been carried out by the Deputy Director of the department. FATE had to file the suit to force the State to implement the law that the State Legislature passed. Insufficient staffing is not an isolated California problem, but an ongoing national problem causing most of the poor care and neglect in the nation's nursing homes.
In September of 2006, a study was conducted by Consumer Reports suggesting that nursing homes are much better today than they were in 1987. The Consumer Report investigation also found that the state agencies responsible for overseeing nursing home care often failed to correct problems. The Report also stated that deficiencies written by state inspectors increased since 2003; however, inspectors appear to be watering them down. The monies that the industry receives from our tax dollars continues to climb, the operator's bottom line profits continue to grow, investors' return on their financial investment continues to rise, fraud of the MediCare and MediCaid systems is ongoing, millions of political contributions from the nursing home industry continue to line the pockets of politicians and, most importantly, the poor care and neglect of our loved ones continues to be on the rise with little to no government intervention of an industry that derives the majority of its wealth from our tax dollars.
The lack of government enforcement is also a reason why many families turn to elder abuse attorneys to file civil law suits against the industry for the horrific deaths of their loved ones. Before California passed the Elder Abuse law, attorneys were reluctant to file law suits. But since the passage of the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA) in California, nursing homes are being held accountable because of the lawsuits not because of interventions of the government regulators. FATE's work over the years clearly shows the lack of government enforcement of this industry that is handsomely paid by our tax dollars to care for our most vulnerable citizens. The nursing home industry has put profits ahead of care for years and continues to get away with it unless civil action is taken against them to hold them accountable.
Anyone of us who may have the unfortunate task of placing a loved one in a nursing home needs to know that the probability of poor care and neglect is alive and well in these facilities. Be vigilant: Go often to see the patient (under the federal law, there are no visiting hours for family members); go often at any time day or night; ask questions; check their bodies to ensure there are no bedsores forming; make sure they are getting sufficient liquids to prevent dehydration; listen to what the patient is telling you and don't let the facility staff dismiss the patient's complaints.
Since it appears to be "business as usual" in nursing homes and with the lack of oversight by the regulators perhaps it's time to close down all nursing homes and start all over again with a different plan. Perhaps the billions of dollars the government gives to nursing homes should be given to each of us who wish to remain in our homes and be cared for by people of our choice.

SOURCE:    The Huffington Post

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Study: 1 in 10 Victims of Elder Abuse (USA)

Monday, April 2, 2012
By Nick Tate

As many as 1 in 10 American seniors may be victims of elder abuse -- mistreatment, neglect and exploitation of a physical, psychological, or sexual nature -- according to a new report by the National Academy on an Aging Society.
The academys Public Policy & Aging Report found that a troubling number of seniors 60 and older are still victimized, despite federal legislation that was passed to combat the problem as part of 2010's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Despite the 2010 passage of the Elder Justice Act, policy experts have found that combating widespread abuse of seniors is still not a top priority for care providers and governments alike, according to reports authors.
The report, which included introductory statements by leading senior advocates U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) and U.S. Representative Peter King (R-NY), noted the act has received no appropriations to date.
Lead author Marie-Therese Connolly analyzed the numerous agencies with responsibility for addressing elder abuse and found those efforts continue to lack coordination and direction.
"The human and economic toll exacted by elder abuse is vast, cruel, and costly," said Connolly. "It's an issue where real federal leadership and a modest investment of resources  by Congress, the [Obama] Administration, and private funders  could have a profound impact, mitigating the suffering of millions of people and saving billions of dollars."
Connollys report noted elder abuse can increase rates of mortality, injury and disease, as well as a four-fold increase in nursing home admissions.
© 2012 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

 SOURCE:      NewsMaxHealth
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Protecting the Vulnerable ( AUSTRALIA)

By Linda Starr
12 March, 2012

Ahead of her upcoming appearance at a public forum on the issue, Professor Linda Starr writes for INsite today on elder abuse and what professionals can do to stop it
The United Nations has estimated that the number of people over 60 years of age across the globe will reach 1.2 billion in 2025. In Australia we currently have approximately 2.8 million people over 65 years of age and it is estimated that by 2056, one in four will have reached that age.
We know that older people can face a number of health risks including chronic illness, physical and mental fragility and, vulnerability to abuse. As such it is essential that the global society puts considerable effort into the care and protection of older people to provide for their future health and safety needs and for their protection from abuse.
Elder abuse
Elder abuse includes a wide range of behaviours and is commonly defined as: “A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.”
Elder abuse presents in various different forms and can be broadly defined as either neglect, physical, financial, psychological or sexual abuse. Whatever form it takes it is a breach of the older person’s civil and human rights and may also be a crime.
Accurately estimating the incidence of elder abuse is difficult for a number of reasons including ineffective reporting systems and wide variations in the definition of abuse and the global legal response to this form of interpersonal violence. However, it is estimated that in Australia the incidence of elder abuse is approximately 4.6 per cent of the elder population, a percentage that falls within the range of global figures where it is estimated that between 1 and 35 per cent of people over 65 years of age will be or have been a victim of abuse.
Developing a legal framework
There has been a mixed global response regarding the adoption of mandatory reporting laws for elder abuse. Overall, the US and some provinces in Canada have taken the lead in this important law reform. In Australia the approach had been to leave each state and territory to provide legislative protection to older citizens through their existing criminal justice frameworks. However, these proved to be drafted to narrowly to address the unique issues involved in elder abuse, leading to patchy law reform that criminalised abusive behaviour toward the older person but fell short of mandatory reporting and arguably achieved little toward improving the safety of vulnerable adults.
National law reform
A highly publicised case of alleged elder abuse alleged in a Victorian nursing home led to a national response when the Commonwealth government adopted a new attitude toward the protection of older Australians, introducing a framework of law reform including amendments to the Aged Care Act that made reporting of sexual and serious physical assault in approved residential aged care facilities compulsory as of July 1, 2007. There is no doubt that this is a step forward toward building the nation’s capacity to respond effectively to some forms of elder abuse in some environments. Has this been effective?
In the first year of mandatory reporting there were 925 reports made under the amendments to the Aged Care Act. Two hundred of these reports were for sexual assault and 725 were for excessive physical force, although it is understood that only six charges have been laid by police and even fewer have made it to the criminal courts. Each year the number of reports has increased.
In my PhD research I aim to explore the experiences of registered and enrolled nurses and carers in identifying and reporting abuse in order to identify what factors hindered and what helped them in this process. I will also be exploring the experiences of the investigating officers and police who receive and investigate these reports in order to determine how these contribute to their capacity in establishing a case of abuse. The emphasis of this study is to improve the reporting of elder abuse rather than identifying any agencies or facilities where abuse occurs.
Linda Starr is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at Flinders University, South Australia. Along with senior lecturer at Flinders University Dr Lana Zannettino, Starr will appear at a public forum on elder abuse, being hosted by the Flinders University School of Nursing and Midwifery on April 11

 SOURCE:      The Aged Care INsite
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STUDY: Nearly One in Five Elderly Israelis Report Abuse

Researchers from Haifa University hope to develop ways to detect and halt maltreatment
By Hillary Zaken
March 6, 2012

Almost one in five elderly Israelis suffers from some form of abuse, a new study has found.
Among the elderly, around 16 percent suffer from physical and psychological abuse or financial exploitation, the University of Haifa study found. In the majority of cases the people responsible were family members serving as caregivers.
During the course of the study, released on March 2, researchers questioned more than 1,300 people over the age of 60 from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
The researchers speculate that the number of abused elderly is actually higher than the number reported in the study, which did not include people living in governmental and private geriatric institutions or in assisted living facilities.
This data is of particular concern, since the growth rate of Israel’s elderly population is among the highest in the Western world and is continuing to rise, according to statistics collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 2009, 9.8% of the Israeli population was 65 years old and over, according to those statistics, with the number expected to reach 14% by 2030.
According to the researchers, abuse of the elderly has been recognized as a widespread problem only in the last decade. Despite growing awareness, screening tools to identify senior citizens at risk are still limited, and the study aims to help develop new ways to detect abuse.

 SOURCE:       Times of Israel
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Study: Elder Abuse a Serious Problem for Chinese Seniors (USA)

Study: Elder Abuse a Serious Problem for Chinese Seniors
Sing Tao Daily, News Report,
Rong Xiaoqing
Dec 04, 2011

Elder abuse and neglect are growing problems with the rapid aging of the United States, but Chinese seniors in this country face special challenges, according to a new study presented at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) annual convention, held in Boston, in November.

When asked about being mistreated, Chinese elders interviewed for the study identified psychological mistreatment as the most serious form of abuse, said Chang. Other forms included financial exploitation, physical mistreatment and abandonment.

E-Shien Chang, a Chinese American researcher at Rush University’s Institute for Healthy Aging, in Chicago, spent five years with her colleagues studying members of the Windy City’s Chinese community, who participated in the institute’s program to prevent elder abuse and neglect.

She and Dr. XinQi Dong, also of Rush, worked with the Chinese American Service Alliance, Chicago’s largest organization serving the Chinese community in the Midwest, to collect data.

Caregiver Neglect

Their final report included findings from interviews with 39 Chinese seniors ages 60 or older, who participated in focus groups. The study participants indicated said that "caregivers' neglect," such as deliberate refusal to provide an elder food or medication, was especially common.

Chang emphasized that the perceptions of abuse by Chinese seniors differ somewhat from other ethic groups because Chinese elders tend to rely on their children to care for them and avoid hired care providers.

In Chinese culture adult children are traditionally responsible for taking caring for their aging parents, so Chinese seniors may have higher expectations for their caregivers, Chang said.

But as their children grow up in the United States and have more exposure to the American culture than traditional Chinese culture, the older Chinese immigrants are more vulnerable to perceived or actual emotional abuse. For example, she said, Chinese seniors may have broad definitions of abuse, such as hearing their children shout, "Go to hell," a deeply disrespectful affront for them.

The study was published in the Journal of Aging and Health last spring. Chang and her coauthors found, “Chinese older adults have limited knowledge of help-seeking resources other than seeking assistance from local community service centers.” Also, many older Chinese immigrants are further isolated because they don’t speak English, which disconnects them from mainstream American society.

Elder Abuse Awakening Day
Chang and her colleagues also worked with the Chinese community to launch anti-abuse activities.

In June, they launched the first Elder Abuse Awakening Day in Chicago’s Chinatown. They invited professionals to the event to educate Chinese seniors about ways to prevent elder abuse. Also, the event included an essay contest for teenagers who learned about elder abuse and wrote about how to identify and prevent it.

The GSA meeting attracted 3,800 gerontology scholars from 30 countries. Featured topics among more than 1,500 sessions and research papers, 500 of which included minority content. Topics covered such wide-raging subjects as senior health care, Social Security and pension issues, older workers and the impact of senior arts and cultural programs.


Rong Xiaoqing participated at the conference of the MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellowships, a program of New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America. This article was translated from Chinese by Summer Chiang of New America Media.

SOURCE:     NewAmericaMedia
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Elder abuse focus of West Oahu research (HAWAII)

 Elder abuse focus of West Oahu research
February 9, 2012  |  UH News staff
The University of Hawaiʻi–

West Oʻahu has partnered with the Hawaiʻi Executive Office on Aging in the Hawaiʻi Elderly Abuse Prevention Project to uncover the various issues that older adults, their families and the community face regarding elder abuse and neglect in Hawaiʻi.
The problem of elderly abuse has been recognized as a growing problem in the United States over the past decade with between one and two million Americans age 65 or older having been injured, exploited or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection (National Center on Elder Abuse, 2005). The long-term goal for the HEAPRP is to uncover the various issues that older adults, their families,and the community face regarding elder abuse and neglect in Hawaiʻi, with the aim of developing public policy solutions to resolve this social problem.
This service learning research project is spearheaded by UH West Oʻahu Assistant Professor of Sociology Orlando Garcia-Santiago and will be implemented in two different phases as part of his courses.
Phase one will include the development of a research proposal that covers the conceptualization and definition of the research questions, the writing of a literature review, the design of an appropriate data collection protocol, developing data gathering instruments and data analysis protocols.
Phase two will include a review and implementation of the research proposal produced by the class, including data gathering, analyzes of the data, the writing and discussions of the findings and writing recommendations for public policy in the prevention of abuse among our elderly population.

 SOURCE:     HAWAII EDU NEWS
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Elder Abuse and Neglect in Singapore

(Although the information given in the article (a thesis), may be a few years old, some facts must be relevant to date...... Andrew)


Title: Elder abuse and neglect in Singapore
Authors: JAYANTHI D/O NAGALINGAM
Supervisor: CHAN WEI-MING, ANGELIQUE
Keywords: elder abuse, neglect, care-giving, dependency, caregiver stress, mistreatment.
Issue Date: 2005
Abstract: This is a qualitative study that looks at elder abuse and neglect from the perspectives of the abused and/or neglected elderly, their caregivers and service providers in Singapore. The study examines the definitions, determinants of elder mistreatment at the individual, familial and societal levels and the barriers that deterred effective intervention. Marital, health, work and income status at the individual level, poor familial relationships at the familial level and negative perceptions of the aged at the environmental level were found to be contributing to elder mistreatment in Singapore. Negligent behavior of the adult children, intergenerational transmission of violence and self-neglect by the elderly were the most significant findings in this thesis, contrary to what have been found in previous studies in Singapore. Service providers reported that fear, dependency, shame, cognitive impairment and lack of public awareness were some of the barriers that deterred effective strategies with regard to elder maltreatment.

Department: SOCIOLOGY
Degree Conferred: MASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Document Type: Thesis
Files in this item
Files Version

ELDER ABUSE AND ... N SINGAPORE-N.JAYANTHI.pdf   (log into the site, and do a search to get the article.

SOURCE:   Scholar Bank, National University of Singapore

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The Season to be Wary of Elder Financial Abuse

posted on: december 14, 2011

If this year's holiday period is anything like the last, seniors should be advised that, along with seasonal elevations of joy and good cheer, the risk of falling victim to elder financial abuse is also increasing. Older adults need to know the warning signals of financial abuse and exploitation, how to prevent it, and what to do if it does occur.

According to research conducted by Karen A. Roberto, director of the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech, of the 1,128 news articles on elder abuse published from November 2010 through January 2011, 31 percent dealt with abuse of a financial nature. Although slightly more than one-quarter of these events were identified as singular random acts incurring relatively minor financial losses, a high level of brutality and disregard for human life characterized these crimes. Even more disturbing is the revelation that family, friends, and neighbors were identified as perpetrators in 45 percent of these cases and the overall dollar losses at the hands of family and friends were higher than from any other category of perpetrators.

"Our findings support what service providers have long suspected, older adults are particularly vulnerable to financial abuse during the holidays," said Roberto, who also serves as a professor of human development in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. "This might be due to the increase in the frequency of visitors in- and-out of their homes, money flowing more freely, and distractions that take them out of their normal routines."

10 tips for seniors to consider now and throughout the year

Preventing financial abuse begins with the elder. Some key considerations in avoiding such a situation include:

1. Stay active and engage with others; isolation increases both vulnerability and opportunity for victimization.
2. Monitor your financial affairs. Even if assistance is needed, you or a trusted friend or family member should double check bank and credit card statements and other financial transactions. It is advisable to use direct deposit when possible and to sign your own checks if able.
3. Stay organized. Know where your financial documents are (including wills, trusts, and power of attorney). Keep them safe and review annually; update as circumstances change.
4. Discuss benefits of appointing a Power of Attorney with your attorney so that your directives can be adhered to even if you become incapable of stating them yourself.
5. Be cautions in making financial decisions. Do not allow anyone to pressure you into making a hasty decision. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never give out bank account, social security or credit account numbers to solicitors.
6. Protect your passwords. Do not share banking, computer or ATM passwords with others, and notify company or bank if you notice any questionable charges or transactions.
7. Beware of telephone solicitations. It is not rude to hang up when an unknown caller tries to talk you into doing something you don't want to do or buying something you don't want. Hang up! Then call the National Do Not Call Registry at             1-888-382-1222       to reduce the number of solicitation calls you receive.
8. Be careful of individuals who may take advantage of you. Elder financial abuse can be committed by anyone, including caregivers or family members. Be wary if anyone pressures you to do something with your money or possessions that you are not sure you want to do (e.g. adding their name to your bank accounts or property titles). Be especially careful of someone who tries to keep you isolated from others, and call a trusted family member or the police.
9. Recognize potential financial abusers. Most abusers are very persuasive in convincing the elder of their trustworthiness. Again, never make a monetary decision without talking it over with someone you are sure has your best interests at heart.
10. Know what to do if you believe you are a victim of financial abuse. Put aside your fear or embarrassment and discuss your concerns with someone you trust, be it another family member, clergyman, bank manager, or attorney.

Abridged

Source: Virginia Tech

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Hearing the Elderly (USA)

December 7, 2011

By PAULA SPAN

Karl Pillemer, the Cornell University gerontologist, has published noteworthy research on a range of subjects related to aging: family dynamics, nursing home interactions between staff and family members, elder abuse, long-term care.

More recently, Dr. Pillemer has taken a different tack. Instead of the usual carefully randomized study comparing outcomes after controlling for characteristics X and Y, he and his colleagues have been interviewing people over age 70 — “experts,” he calls them — to ask what lessons they have learned in their many decades and what they would like to tell younger people about aging.

He has been at it for five years now, and one result is the book, “30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.” Another is an accompanying Web site, The Legacy Project.

The advantage of the Web site is that video interviews allow users to meet the “experts,” hear their laughter and listen to their counsel (sometimes easier when they’re someone else’s parents) about marriage and family, work, health, faith, life in general. You can see why Dr. Pillemer has been captivated.

Paula Span is the author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions.”

SOURCE:    The New York Times
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