Elder Abuse : international and Polish perspectives

Abstract

As people age, they find themselves vulnerable to unique social problems, but especially, elder abuse. Elder abuse may be defined 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. Like any other form of abuse, elder abuse is a violation of human rights and a significant cause of injury, illness, lost productivity, isolation and despair. Elder abuse is a critical social problem that often results in devastating outcomes, including serious physical injuries, emotional pain and suffering, shame, depression, shattered trust, financial ruin, and increased risk of mortality. Despite increasing attention, elder abuse is still largely hidden with unresolved questions about the number of victims and relatively little attention devoted to developing and testing interventions. According to World Health Organization (2008), abuse is underreported by as much as 80%, and estimates that around four to six per cent of older people have experienced some form of maltreatment at home. This means that as much as 4 million older people are thought to experience maltreatment in any one year in the Europe. Risk factors include, carer stress, high levels dependency and co-morbidities, family conflict, isolation, and addictive behaviours. Responses to elder abuse range from helplines and counselling, specialised care management, and multi-disciplinary response teams.