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Elder Abuse

Tips on Hiring a Caregiver:

You can download Santa Sophia's informative article on, "Thinking of Hiring a Caregiver for your Parents -- What you should know before hiring help in the home".


Elder abuse is an intentional act or failure to act that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult. An older adult is someone age 60 or older. The abuse occurs at the hands of a caregiver or a person the elder trusts.

Domestic Violence
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Common Types of Elder Abuse

Physical Abuse is when an elder experiences illness, pain, injury, functional impairment, distress, or death as a result of the intentional use of physical force and includes acts such as hitting, kicking, pushing, slapping, and burning.


Sexual abuse involves forced or unwanted sexual interaction of any kind with an older adult. This may include unwanted sexual contact or penetration or non-contact acts such as sexual harassment.


Emotional or Psychological abuse refers to verbal or nonverbal behaviors that inflict anguish, mental pain, fear, or distress on an older adult. Examples include humiliation or disrespect, verbal and non-verbal threats, harassment, and geographic or interpersonal isolation.


Neglect by Others – Failure to provide the basic care, or services necessary to maintain the health and safety of an adult: this failure can be active or passive. These needs include food, water, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and essential medical care.


Self-Neglect – Refusal or failure to provide himself/herself with adequate food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medication (when indicated), and safety precautions.


Financial abuse is the illegal, unauthorized, or improper use of an elder’s money, benefits, belongings, property, or assets for the benefit of someone other than the older adult.


Abandonment – the desertion or willful forsaking by anyone having responsibility for care.


Isolation – Preventing the individual from receiving mail, telephone calls, or visitors.


How to Recognize Abuse

  • Lack of basic amenities 
  • Cluttered, filthy living environment
  • Unexplained or uncharacteristic changes in behavior 
  • Unexplained sexually transmitted diseases 
  • Unpaid bills, new credit cards and/or increased cash withdrawals 
  • Harassment, coercion, intimidation, humiliation
  • Caregiver isolate elder


Recognizing elder abuse

Risk Factors

A history of Spousal abuse

Family power dynamics

Isolation

Troubled relatives, friends, or neighbors

Poor conditions in Elder's institution

Ageism

Lack of understanding of the aging process

Inability to cope with long-term caregiving

Society's acceptance of violence

Barriers to Help and Safety

Fear, Shame, Guilt

Low Self-esteem

Love for the abuser

Lack of or impaired understanding   

Acceptance of abuse as normal   

Uninformed about available resources




Cultural Considerations

Unique challenges for senior immigrants such as language barriers, social isolation, financial and emotional dependence, cultural taboos, community backlash, desire for privacy

Impaired physical and/or Mental capacity

Lack of transportation

Dependence on medication or other medical services

Reliance on family or outside caregivers

For more information about abuse of older persons, go to:

 

https://www.cdc.gov/elder-abuse/about/index.html 


Need to report abuse or find services for older adults?


To report In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) provider fraud, call 1(888) 717-8301 or 1(800) 722-0432. 


Report elder abuse or find services for older adults and their families by visiting the Elder Care Locator: 

    https://eldercare.acl.gov/home 

    

You can also access the Locator by calling 1-800-677-1116. The Eldercare Locator is a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging.


San Diego Adult Protective Services


https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/ais/Services/Adult-Protective-Services.html


More Information and Resources