Major Paper 4--Explaining a Concept Research Paper - Essay Example

This paper aims to explain the concept of elder abuse to those who may not be familiar with the topic. Part of the information presented within the paper will include, but will not be limited to the risk factors relating to elder abuse, types of elder abuse with accompanying examples, the signs and symptoms of elder abuse, and how to deal with the situation when one discovers an elderly person who is being abused by his family members of caregivers. The World Health Organization has recognized Elderly Abuse as an increasingly growing problem among the population of the elderly.

As such the World Health Organization has given the official definition of Elder Abuse 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”). The definition was adopted from the Action on Elder Abuse in the United Kingdom and has become the most widely accepted definition of the violent act upon the elderly. Elder Abuse most often occurs due to the “trust factor” that the aging person must place in the treatment that he expects of his caregiver.

This trust factor is something that an elder person normally has for an immediate member of his family such as a younger sibling, spouse, family member, friend, neighbor, or anyone else that the elder person must rel on for services that he requires assistance in accomplishing. It is because of the closeness of the elderly towards his abuser that the law has classified Elder Abuse as a part of domestic or family violence. According to the Administration on Aging, elder abuse is no different from any other type of abuse that even young people experience.

The only difference is that just like a child, an elderly person is already limited in his ability to defend himself from abuse. The various types of elder abuse as per information taken from the Administration on Aging (“What is Elder Abuse?”) include: Physical Abuse - inflicting physical pain or injury on a senior, e.g. slapping, bruising, or restraining by physical or chemical means. Sexual Abuse - non-consensual sexual contact of any kind. Neglect - the failure by those responsible to provide food, shelter, health care, or protection for a vulnerable elder.

Exploitation - the illegal taking, misuse, or concealment of funds, property, or assets of a senior for someone else's benefit. Emotional Abuse - inflicting mental pain, anguish, or distress on an elder person through verbal or nonverbal acts, e.g. humiliating, intimidating, or threatening. Abandonment - desertion of a vulnerable elder by anyone who has assumed the responsibility for care or custody of that person. Self-neglect – characterized as the failure of a person to perform essential, self-care tasks and that such failure threatens his/her own health or safety.

An abuser has the ability to change the way that people perceive his abusee. In the case of the elderly, an abuser will do his best to portray the elderly as senile, or accident prone, and basically, just unable to care for him or herself sans any assistance. Once the others in the social circle of the elderly begin to believe in the feebleness of the elderly person, then the abuser will begin to get away with the