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Elderly Abuse and Neglect

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Advanced Age Geriatric Care

Abstract

Elderly abuse is known to occur for more than a thousand years. Elderly abuse has been defined as acts directed towards the elderly that result in physical, psychological, sexual abuse and financial exploitation or acts of omissions such as neglect. One in four vulnerable elders are at risk of abuse, and only a small proportion of them are detected. Dependent elders are particularly susceptible to mistreatment. Clinician’s reluctance to report victims and their lack of awareness of warning signs are factors for underreporting. Awareness of the risk factors and clinical manifestations and a high degree of suspicion will provide early detection of elder mistreatment. Special attention to ‘hidden’ signals and in certain situations may signal high risk. Screening is the most important of the primary intervention strategies for the detection of elder abuse. Intervention strategies can include a wide range of services. This chapter provides an overview of this complex condition and its prevalence and the recognition of hidden signals and identifies the factors influencing intervention.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Kujan Nagaratnam & Nages Nagaratnam

Authors
  1. Kujan Nagaratnam
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  2. Nages Nagaratnam
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nages Nagaratnam .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Nages Nagaratnam

  2. Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Kujan Nagaratnam

  3. Rehabilitation and Aged Care Service, Blacktown-Mt Druitt Hospital, Blacktown, NSW, Australia

    Gary Cheuk

Appendices

Short Answer Questions(SAQs)

  1. 1.

    List five types of elderly abuse.

Answers to SAQ

  1. 1.

    Physical, financial, sexual, neglect and psychological

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

  1. 1.

    The following is related to elderly abuse are true, except:

    1. A.

      Abusers are most commonly family members.

    2. B.

      Relatives’ defiance of outside interference is a hidden signal of abuse.

    3. C.

      Many professional do not find it difficult to comprehend sexual abuse as a form of violence where elderly people are involved.

    4. D.

      Elderly men spouses are abused twice as often as elderly wives.

  2. 2.

    The following are ‘hidden signals’ in the identification of elder abuse, except:

    1. A.

      Injury out of proportion to explanation given.

    2. B.

      Increased dependency.

    3. C.

      Abusers are not financially dependent on the victim.

    4. D.

      Carers’ defiance of outside intervention.

Answers to MCQs

  1. 1.

    C

  2. 2.

    A

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Nagaratnam, K., Nagaratnam, N. (2019). Elderly Abuse and Neglect. In: Nagaratnam, N., Nagaratnam, K., Cheuk, G. (eds) Advanced Age Geriatric Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96998-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96998-5_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96997-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-96998-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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