Monday, February 9, 2009

UK Study on Elder Abuse

After surveying 220 adults in the United Kingdom who were tending to relatives with dementia, British researchers recently concluded that elder abuse should be viewed as a “spectrum of behaviors rather than an all-or-nothing phenomenon.” Among other things, their findings expose an old myth — that abuse of elders happens at the hands of paid caregivers, rarely family members.

Led by Dr. Claudia Cooper, a psychiatrist at University College London, the researchers asked caregivers how often in the past three months they had acted in various psychologically and physically abusive ways toward the care recipient. The scientists relied on a common definition of elder abuse used in both the U.K. and in the United States: harming an older person psychologically, financially, physically or by neglect.

More than half of the family caregivers reported having engaged in some abusive behavior — including screaming, insulting or cursing — directed at the person in their care, the researchers found. More than a quarter of the respondents had “at least sometimes” screamed or yelled at their cognitively impaired relatives, and just shy of 20 percent said they had used a harsh tone, or had insulted or sworn at their charges.

Less common, but not unheard of, were instances in which caregivers threatened impaired relatives with nursing home placement or abandonment, or hit or shook them. Some 1.4 percent admitted that they had engaged in significant physical abuse.

The British government has been reviewing current policy for safeguarding vulnerable adults, and both the existing policy and the review have been focused entirely on preventing abuse by paid caregivers. Dr. Gill Livingston, a professor psychiatry at University College London and a co-author of the study, said that any strategy for protecting this helpless group “must be directed toward families who provide the majority of care for older people, rather than exclusively at paid caregivers.”

Full Article and Source:
Elder Abuse: All in the Family?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It ain't just the family and the caregivers, for sure; it's the lawyers who rape and plunder the elder estates, with a "License to Steal" from the government and the courts!

Anonymous said...

Generally, nobody cares like a close family member. That doesn't mean they don't get frustrated or tired of their duties. That is human nature.

There are studies to support the concept that poor parenting breeds poor caregivers. ie, An abusive parent raises a child who is prone to abuse them. Unfortunately, the grown child still feels duty bound to "protect them".

Instead of judging family members, society must look for ways to assist in the care of aging parents. It would certainly take a burden off society.

Anonymous said...

Right, caregiving is the hardest job in the world. And the most draining.

And the most rewarding.

Anonymous said...

The lawyers have this all wrapped up in nice tidy packages.