Awareness key to stopping elder abuse
Published on January 26, 2012
By Erika Glasberg, The Standard Freeholder (EGLASBERG@STANDARD-FREEHOLDER.COM)
CORNWALL – Sometimes stressful situations can escalate into an abusive event. However, when the victim is not capable of caring for themselves, the abuse can go undetected.
This includes elder abuse, an are of concern that is growing and yet awareness of it remains lagging behind other forms of abuse.
There are many different types of elder abuse that can go unnoticed including financial abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect.
“Sometimes what we may see is that the individual is being taken advantage of financially. They aren’t able to pay their bills because an individual is taking their money,” said Denise Paquette, chair and coordinator for the Prevention of Elder Abuse program with Carefor Health & Community Services.
“Sometimes if there is a situation with dementia, (the sufferer) can get abusive and domestic violence sometimes occurs.”
The Community Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse for the Eastern Counties and Akwesasne’s goal is to increase the awareness of elder abuse as well as to prevent and respond to it through a coordinated response network.
“Basically (we look for) what’s happening, what’s the situation, what are (the victims) complaining about. Sometimes it’s financial (issues), are (the victims) able to pay their bills, if they’re aloud to spend their money…,” Paquette said.
“And we might see too that the individual or that professionals (who) are going into the home see red flags (such as) if a person is being restrained or unsupervised or we can see bruises. If this is happening frequently then they’re not being given the proper care from the caregiver (and something is done).”
Depending on the situation, there are different steps that can be taken, including calling the authorities to report domestic abuse or calling the agency they may be involved with (such as the Alzheimer Society) to see if it’s a behavioral problem that can be treated.
The most frequent form of elder abuse according to Paquette is financial abuse followed by neglect.
“What I’m seeing right now, if you look at the research right now, it’s the misuse of finances – financial abuse – but now it (looks like) the power of attorney (is the most commonly misused),” she said.
Older adults should make sure that they’re aware of what elder abuse is.
“If they feel that maybe someone is suggesting a transfer of bank account to their bank to talk with friends or family members or to people that they trust so that if they’re giving power of attorney to somebody that it’s someone that they can trust,” Paquette suggested.
“Read financial statements to look for any problems.”
Other signs to look for include; large sums of money being withdrawn from bank accounts, the older person is in debt and doesn't know why, bank statements are no longer being sent to the person’s home, they are no longer able to buy personal necessities including food and personal care items, or they are asked to sign power of attorney papers.
Neglect usually happens when the caregiver is no longer paying attention to the needs of the person they are caring for, which in many cases is a spouse, sibling or parent.
“It generally happens when the person is living with a caregiver,” Paquette said
Some of the main signs of neglect can physically show on the person being cared for such as malnutrition, inappropriate dress, under or over medicated or if medical appointments are canceled on a regular basis.
For more information, call Denise Paquette at 613-932-3451 or visit www.careforelder.ca or www.onpea.org.
Full article: http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3449404
Found in: elder abuse elder abuse prevention Carefor
