Question

In addition to the legal issues and the financial challenges that the aging population face in accessing appropriate healthcare services, many older adults are also at risk of elder abuse. Elder abuse is more than the infliction of physical harm. The National Center on Elder Abuse Administration on Aging (NCEA) purports that no one knows how many people are suffering from elder abuse and neglect. The center also supports the claim that female elders are abused at a higher rate than males and that the older one is, the more likely one is to be abused (NCEA, 2015).

Tasks:

In a minimum of 200 words, post your response to the following:

There are many types of elder abuse. Choose two types and discuss the challenges you perceive in abolishing them. Justify why you consider them as the most crucial. Discuss how you can advocate for the elderly and protect them from abuse.
Submission Details:

By the due date assigned, post your responses to this Discussion Area.
Through the end of the module, read all of your classmates' postings and respond to at least two classmates' posts that differ from your opinion. Consider sharing your own experiences and interpretation of the research. Support your findings with examples and scholarly references. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Answer 1

Ashlie

Ashlie has done a good job in shedding light on this issue of the elderly being abused while using a good command of language. I agree that both emotional abuse and neglect are the most crucial forms of elderly abuse. However, I differ with the fact that the main challenge faced in protecting elderly from abuse is lack of reporting. Although it is true that most cases of elderly abuse are not reported, reporting will not reduce the cases of abuse (Sloan, 2014). Therefore, this problem should be dealt with from the root and measures should be put in place to prevent rather than cure after the abuse has already happened. Such measures include ensuring that the caregivers understand the emotional needs of the elderly and their physical needs so that they do not abuse them out of ignorance. Also, the elderly should be well informed about the law to avoid any cases going unreported (Skaine, 2015).

Kristen

Kristen seems very passionate about this issue of elderly abuse and has included some of her personal information concerning her grandmother. This article is detailed and very educative in terms of how the old face abuse. However, I feel that Kristen has omitted one of the major ways in which an older adult can avoid abuse (Payne, 2017). Some of the older adults, due to disease and lack of knowledge, are not aware of what to expect from the caregiver or the steps that they should take in case they are abused. Thus, educating the elderly too is important. It should be clearly explained to them what is termed as abuse and what they should do in case they are abused by a caregiver or any other person (Hugman & Campling, 2014). Even though there are groups that train the communities about taking care of the elderly, they should also educate those being taken care of too.