Elder Abuse Essay

The Seriousness of olderberry bush Abuse in Hong Kong FamiliesTo let grizzlyer adults enjoy a finger of security and a sense of be granding is a age-honoured tradition in the Chinese society. Unfortunately, senior laugh at has risen as a serious social problem in Hong Kong. An organization called The Against Elderly Abuse of Hong Kong has get 2212 requests for serve weller related to sr. debase in 2011, which has doubled the number of requests received in 2006 (Cases of aged(a)ly maltreatment, 2012). in any event, several pieces of news virtually senior maltreat in Hong Kong families postulate been reported, for example, a 90-year old woman was forced to supply home by her unfilial son and daughter-in-law (Li, 2012). To analyze, the main kickoff causes of senior profane force out be induced to the emphasise of family angel dusts due to the addiction of the immemorial as well as the financial dependence of family complaintgivers on the antique. In a ddition to physical and psychological injury, the insultd elder hoi polloi come a higher mortality rate than those not being maltreatd. To substitute the elder abuse problem, enhancement of the capacity of elder c are work and education on the exoteric somewhat elder abuse possess been suggested by the experts.First and foremost, according to the National Research Council (2003), the definition of elder abuse is defined as Intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm (whether or not harm is intended) to a vulnerable elder by a handlegiver or other person who stands in a trusting relationship to the elder or failure by a caregiver to fit the elders basic needs or to protect the elder from harm (p. 40). There are 5 categories of elder abuse, including physical, psychological, financial, sexual, and neglect (Harris, 2006). carnal abuse, psychological abuse, and financial abuse are what this essay will strain on.To start with, haveing the causes of elder abuse is essential. Among many risk factors of elder abuse, stress of family caregivers due to thedependence of the senile is one of themain root causes of elder abuse. As the body functions of the elder plurality are declining, the senile, oddly those suffering from Dementia, may behave like children who depend on the family caregivers in physical, financial and emotional aspects, resulting in exerting a great pressure to the responsible for(p) family caregivers (Pillemer, 1989). A study conducted by Lachs, Williams, OBrien, Hurst, and Horwitz (1997) ascertained that the elder people who have impairments in daily physical activities, such(prenominal) as cooking, and need to be taken care of by family caregivers have double medical prognosis of being abused than those without impairments. Once the stress on the family caregivers exceeds what they sack withstand, elder abuse will probably occur.Apart from the stress of family caregivers due to the dependence of the elder ly, family caregivers depending on the elderly financially is another common cause of the elder abuse. A study conducted by Pillemer (1985) found that 64% of the abusers in his assay were financially dependent on their victims, and 55% were dependent for housing (p. 152). The same(p) phenomenon can be applied to Hong Kong. As the price of tights in Hong Kong is real high, many Hong Kong citizens cannot afford it. However, about adults still want to have their hold flat. Therefore, some of them will force their old parents to pay for them. In some serious cases, an adult son defrauds the money or the ownership of the flat of their old parents by inveigling them to sign the money withdrawal banking slip or the contract of the change of the ownership of their flat (Lee, 2011). Moreover, due to the underreported crime record of the financial abuse on the elderly and family caregivers accounting for 60% to 90% of the abusers, financial exploitation on the elder people by family car egivers has run short a serious social problem which is difficult to be discovered (Blackburn & Dulmus, 2007). later on realizing the causes, understanding the impact of the elder abuse is also significant. The elder people being abused would suffer from both physical and psychological injuries which use up to a higher mortality rate. According to a study in America, 40% of the non-abused elderly group were still living aft(prenominal) a nine-year experimental period however, only 9% of the abused elderly were still alive (Wolf, 2000). The reasons behind are due to the physical injury, such as cuts, burns, and fractures, caused by infliction of physical violence on the elderly as well as psychological injury, such as depression, maintenance and anxiety, generated by verbal aggression and insulting action on the elderly (Blackburn & Dulmus, 2007 Yan & Tang, 2004). Some elder people suffering from abuse would commit felo-de-se so as to avoid being abused continually (Blackburn & D ulmus, 2007).After understanding the root causes and the impact of elder abuse, some solutions are suggested by the experts and related organizations to ease the problem.Enhancement of the quantity of elderly servings could help relieve the family caregiver stress by increase the capacity of the twenty-four hours Care Centers and Home Care work for the elderly. However, the current quota of elder care serve is seriously inadequate. According to the press release of the Hong Kong Council of sociable Services (2011), there are 26,776 elder people on the waiting itemization of elder care centers and the average waiting time is 3 years, resulting in lots of elder people on the waiting list break down before they can get a ticket to the center. Therefore, by increasing the quota of elderly services, family members can transfer the elderly to Day Care Centers if family members are not convenient to do so, for example, working in daytime. In addition, by insideng so, the family careg ivers can spare time to have their social and out-of-door activities to relieve their stress (Chow, 1999). Moreover, home care services, such as own(prenominal) care helpers or general household helpers, can also slew the workload and stress of the family caregivers. However, on the other hand, it may perhaps lead to elder abuse by the staff or nurses in the service centers. There are some news reports about the elder abuse by staff of elder care centers for example, a 65-year old womansuffering from Alzheimers disease was forced to eat her own commode by a management staff of a home care center for the aged (Man, 2009). Despite the few reported cases, it cannot conclude that the prime(prenominal) of staff in the services units for the elderly is declining. In most cases, it is safety device for the elder people to live in the elder care centers. .Besides increasing the quota of elderly services, detection of elder abuse is also important. As the elder abuse cases are underrep orted, it is crucial to find them out so as to avoid the elderly suffering from abuse continually. Health realiseors who have been trained to identify the suspected abuse cases can be introduced to visit the elder people regularly, observe the elderly to see whether he or she has been abused, and report suspected abuse cases to the Social Welfare Department (Roe, 2002 Strasser & Fulmer, 2007).Ultimately, educating the unrestricted about the official definitions and consequences of different kinds of elder abuse is a wide term measure to ease the elder abuse problem as it can reduce the misunderstanding of elder abuse and raise the commonplace awareness towards the problem (Chan, Chun, & Chung, 2008). According to the Political Declaration and Madrid world(prenominal) Plan of fulfill on Aging (2003) of the United Nations, one ofthe objectives of constitution change is stated as encouraging health and social services professionals, and the general public, to report suspected e lder abuse including training on elder abuse for the caring professionals and establishing information programs to educate older persons about financial abuse, including fraud (p. 5). This policy reflects that educating the public and the elderly to detect and stop elder abuse is an effective measure (Blackburn & Dulmus, 2007). Organizing exhibitions in shopping malls, property seminars in community halls, and making advertisements on television are the measures that can be considered by the Hong Kong government in order to educate the public about the seriousness of elder abuse. Despite petty(a) efficiency and time consuming, in long-term, educating the public to help report thesuspected cases of elder abuse can deter the abusers from hurting the elder people.It can be seen from the higher up that elder abuse is a serious social problem with low public awareness. It leads to many harmful consequences to the elder people who, however, usually inter the case to protect the abuser who may be their family member (Blackburn & Dulmus, 2007). To rigging the problem, enhancing the capacity of elder care services, introducing health care visitors, and educating the public about elder abuse could be the possible solutions. Despite some weaknesses of the solutions, they can boost the public awareness after all. If more citizens in Hong Kong accredit the impact of elder abuse, less elder people will be abused and the problem of elder abuse can be relieved. The elder people in Hong Kong can really enjoy a sense of security and a sense of belonging.ReferencesBlackburn, J. 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