Elder Abuse
In their article, Adina Carmen and his colleagues provide an overview of psychological abuse among the elderly and effective ways of identifying and correcting this issue. According to the authors, the effects of abuse are frequent and it can lead to high medical expenses if hospitalizations are prolonged. It may also lead to a lack of self-assurance among the patients which will consequently lead to somatization, social seclusion, suicide attempts, hopelessness, and anxiety. Due to these issues, the authors suggest there is a need for identification and correction of psychological abuse to ensure effective therapeutic responses are provided (Adina Carmen et al., 2017). This should be conducted through a basic technique that does not need skilled people but enables the elderly to be directed towards the psychological questionnaire. To illustrate the effects of psychological abuse and prolonged hospitalizations, the authors, provide a case of an elderly man about 80 years of age who has been hospitalized severally and admitted due to many episodes of global cardiac decompensation. The causes of his abuse incorporated negligence, abandonment, and financial abuse. After correction of the abuse, the patient’s complexity of care, length of stay, and frequent hospitalization were reduced.
This article reinforces the importance of assessing potential abuse and neglect among the elderly because it provides a comprehensive look into the issues that may affect them if the abuse goes untreated. The article also provides effective ways of reducing the effects of abuse on the elderly. Through the case, the importance of introducing the EASI questionnaire and geriatric assessment in practice is identified. This helps in decreasing the issues faced by specific older people and ensure they are provided with the most effective medical services.
At the micro-level, the elderly can be supported through individual social support interventions like family aide programs, lay counseling, family education, and provision of care and support from family members. At the mezzo level, there is a need to come up with community-based programs to educate people on the effects of elderly abuse. There is also the need for advocacy services, protective services for abused older people, and training for caregivers. At the macro level, the government needs to provide more funding to cater to elderly needs such as medical services. National awareness concerning the issue should be raised and effective social service programs to be designed.
Reference
Adina Carmen, I. L. I. E., Pîslaru, A. I., Alexa, I. D., Pancu, A., Gavrilovici, O., & Dronic, A. (2017). The Psychological Abuse of the Elderly–a Silent Factor of Cardiac Decompensation. Maedica, 12(2), 119.
