Tuesday, May 21, 2013

One in 10 Elders is Abused or Neglected

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, one out of every 10 older Americans is abused or neglected.

Even worse? For every case of elder abuse we know about, an estimated 23 more go unreported. And all too often, the source of the problem hits very close to home.

Dr. Laura Mosqueda is the director of geriatrics at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine.

"What surprises a lot of people is that the most common abusers are family members, not paid caregivers," says Mosqueda. "Most of the abuse occurs in the home, typically by either a spouse or an adult child. Many of us can never imagine ourselves getting so angry that we would push or hit a loved one, but we can get driven to that point more easily than many of us realize."

Full Article and Source:
One in 10 Elders is Abused or Neglected

1 comment:

Lydia said...

How do they know if the elders aren't reporting?