Elder Abuse

For the fiscal year 09-10, the Adult Protective Services of Florida received over 6,992 reports of abuse and spent over $54,000,000 on services and shelter. These shocking statistics for Florida reported by the APS only show a glimpse of the worldwide problem we face with elder abuse.

Although most may think of abuse as physical hitting, biting, or kicking, there are many other situations that may constitute as abuse of an elder. These include psychological abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. In Health Care in the Later Years, a 2004 survey from the APS states that the most frequent types of elder abuse were self neglect (37%), caregiver neglect (20%), emotional/psychological abuse (15%), financial/material exploitation (15%), and physical abuse (11%). Another misconception about elder abuse that some may have is that the perpetrator is usually a caregiver outside of the family, such as a nurse, doctor or aid. However, according to the same 2004 survey as above, in two-thirds of reported abuse incidences the perpetrator was a family member; adult children (33%), other family members (22%) and spouses or partners (11%).

All accounts of elder abuse must be reported, in fact, if Florida everybody is a mandatory reporter. A hotline number may be found on any state Adult Protective Services website where reports are documented and either accepted or declined. It is quite obvious from statistics that elder abuse is a significant issue that we face as we age. I think the bottom line is that we must all do our part to preventing this from continuing at the high rate that it does today. With education and support groups open to caregivers, these programs are the first step to illuminating this problem. Through these doors, caregivers can learn to relieve stress and cope with the difficult tasks that they must perform daily.

Living with a grandmother who cares for my grandfather, as well as a Hospice caregiver in the house ten hours of the day, I know how hard it is on others to care for an elder person. Although my grandmother is constantly physically tired and stressed about the repetition of her daily routine, she is able to take a few hours a day to get out of the house and have her own time. This break for her is both a relief from her constant job, as well as enabling her to continue activities for her own health. Seeing firsthand the stress and work it is to be a caregiver, I know that there are ways and methods to decrease and eliminate the possibility of abuse.

http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/programs/aps/publications.shtml