Preventing and Abolishing Elder Abuse A Systematic Research Proposal

Elder Abuse: The Problem and Proposed Research Study Introduction Elder abuse is perhaps one of the most aggravated problems that exists in the modern world affecting old people. More than common afflictions like cardiovascular disease or diabetes, elder abuse is viewed all over the world as a complex and debilitating problem, one that needs decisive and immediate actions from the health care industry, legislators, the social work sector, and concerned citizens.

Elder abuse is a problem that thrives all around the world, and as the international population of elderly people grows all over the world, the problem demands immediate action and preventative measures. It is important to acknowledge that what happens to the elderly in this regard is very preventable: it does not have to happen and is the mark of a faltering and in many ways, uncaring society.

“This emphasis is appropriate because elder abuse is likely the most widespread problem of older people that is largely preventable (unlike many disease conditions of old age). Therefore, a better understanding of causes and prevention of elder abuse should be a major international priority. Fortunately, an improving international scientific literature has accompanied this growing concern, including prevalence studies in a number of countries and international comparative projects” (Pillemer et al., 2015).

Prevention is absolutely essential in being able to get a handle on the pervasive issue that is elder abuse. The more people understand the complexities of this phenomenon, the more healthcare professionals, social welfare professionals and educated citizens will be able to take strategic action to prevent this problem. Scholars and experts who have dedicated themselves to this issue have determined that there are five main types of elder abuse. Many people in the past have wrongfully considered elder abuse as a mere physical altercation.

While this is true, elder abuse unfortunately extends to a variety of factors and behaviors that prey on older adults and cause them much pain.

These five types of abuse are composed of the following: “physical abuse, or acts carried out with the intention to cause physical pain or injury; psychological or verbal abuse, defined as acts carried out with the aim of causing emotional pain or injury; sexual abuse, defined as nonconsensual sexual contact of any kind; financial exploitation, involving the misappropriation of an older person’s money or property; and neglect, or the failure of a designated caregiver to meet the needs of a dependent older person” (Lachs & Pillemer, 2015).

This definition offers a more comprehensive picture of elder abuse and shows that it can manifest in various forms. This definition points to the fact that many elderly people around the world are suffering in ways no person should have to endure. Elderly people are vulnerable and elder abuse is one of the saddest evils of our day as so many people exploit their vulnerability.

It’s difficult to determine the scope and prevalence of elder abuse since like all forms of abuse it’s not always reported accurately and fully. Hence, research studies that have attempted to gather accurate data on this issue may or may not show the most relevant figures. For example, in 2008, Laumann and associates were able to conclude that the most common type of elder abuse reported that verbal abuse was the most frequent type at 9% of elderly participants experiencing such things.

The next most common form of mistreatment was financial at 3.5% and finally physical mistreatment was the rarest type of abuse, occurring in fewer than 1% of participants. In a similar fashion, a famous study that was based in New York found that one in 13 elderly adults had experienced some form of elder abuse in the previous year. The most common forms of abuse were financial manipulation, emotional abuse, verbal abuse and physical abuse (Lifespan of Greater Rochester, 2011).

The data collected by these research studies illuminate how more concerted action is crucial in order to stop the threat of elder abuse. The mark of a healthy society is seen in how it treats its most vulnerable members: it’s children, old people and animals. The fact that elder abuse is allowed to exist in the world in any extent signals that there is work that must be done immediately to address, abolish and prevent this scathing problem.

Purpose Statement The purpose of this study is to better understand the problem of elder abuse, along with the risk factors that contribute to this severely unfortunate problem. Rather than vilifying the perpetrators as evil monsters, we must seek to understand them and to fully comprehend how these dysfunctional behaviors even begin to manifest. The better that this problem is fully understood, the better one can take organized actions to stop them.

Hence, the ultimate focus of this paper will revolve around the best way to prevent and thwart elder abuse in the most successful fashion. Literature Review Luckily, when it comes to this exact endeavor, there is a host of research on the subject that can offer insight into why the problem manifests and what can be done to nip it in the bud in the most proactive manner.

For example, the study “interventions for Preventing Elder abuse” by Baker and colleagues (2017) does morn the paucity of evidence and data on this very subject and says this absence creates a very low guide to practice. Furthermore, the researchers also condemn the preponderance of “wasteful” research, which needs to be stopped as it does nothing to shed light on the traits inherent in the problem.

“Amongst the interventions, there is some evidence that teaching coping skills to family careers of persons with dementia might make the situation better” (Baker et al., 2017). Hence, while this intervention might not seem all that revelatory, it actually demonstrates an intense understanding of why elder abuse occurs in the first place. Many people who have been charged with the care of people with dementia aren’t fully prepared with how debilitating and draining such an endeavor actually is.

A lot of these people are family members who haven’t been taught the appropriate way to vent and deal with the very real stressors of caring for a relative with dementia. Teaching people useful coping strategies rather than making the incorrect assumption that they’ll “figure things out” on their own is the best strategy. In a similar fashion, the research study “Preventing Elder Abuse in Geriatric Institutions” by Wangmo and colleagues offered comparable insight.

Their research illuminated the necessity of implementing solutions that empowered healthcare professionals to meet their responsibilities in a useful manner. For instance, some of these solutions were obvious (at least in hindsight) such as giving these caregivers better training and education to deal with the real stresses of their jobs. For many nurses and clinicians who deal with geriatrics, sometimes there can be an untrue assumption that these professionals have received the specific training and education in order to deal with these patients directly and to prevent burnout.

This is not always the case. Caring for the elderly, particularly those with dementia is a very debilitating job and there needs to be specific training in this regard. For example, implementing “…better management nursing care provider's responsibilities and timely intervention to address abuse and neglect, as well as rotating care provider. Implementing these suggestions will allow geriatric institutions, its managers, and nursing care providers to improve quality of care and reduce such negative occurrences in these settings” (Wangmo et al., 2017).

Hence, even professionals are susceptible to burn out in when it comes to caring for the elderly. Clinicians need breaks, particularly when their patience is running low and they’ve been working all day. It is unrealistic to expect nurses and other professionals to have boundless patience and stamina when dealing with the elderly. This is an unrealistic expectation to ask of anyone and such a mindset really sets up a situation where elder abuse can occur.

In a similar fashion the study, “Elder Abuse: Systematic Review and Implications for Practice by Xin Qi Dong, found that educating members of the community about the risk factors for elder abuse was worthwhile (2015). This helped everyone to be on the same page and to understand that elder abuse was a real danger even in the healthiest communities. This research also suggested the importance of making a strong community that elders and their families could lean upon.

“Through implementing the CBPR approach, elder abuse intervention programs could build on strengths and resources in the community. Using the CBPR approach, the Family Care Conference (FCC) was developed in a northwestern Native American community” (Dong, 2015). By building strong resources within the community, such as elderly centers and community centers, no one person feels burdened by taking on the entire responsibilities of the community. This creates fortitude and resilient communities that can only become strong with time.

Research Question and Hypothesis The research question seeks to determine what the best multi-disciplinary approach towards creating interventions and preventative strategies actually is for families and communities? This would be with the intent of disrupting elder abuse in order to have the most powerful and lasting impact on individuals, families and the greater community. The hypothesis for the study would be that the most comprehensive yet accessible multi-disciplinary approach would be best in order to educate, enlighten and reinforce individuals, families and communities.

In order to be successful, the approach needs to tackle the problem from a variety of manners and angles in order to create the most strength and resiliency. Research Methodology The research methodology would be a qualitative approach and would revolve around the use of surveys and interviews of members of the community and leaders of the community.

Members of the community would each receive a survey that is multiple choice that would seek to assess how much stress and burden they are under given the amount of care they are expected to give to elderly family members. This survey would also attempt to determine how they deal with that stress, and whether they had outlets for their burdens.

Finally this survey would seek to determine if they had any sense of what acceptable, versus unacceptable behavior was in this regard and if they had any history with behaviors or reactions to stress that they considered unacceptable or inappropriate. Leaders of the community and social welfare stakeholders would be given an interview that would be of a more open format.

This format would seek to determine their ideas in general about the problem: how extensive they think the problem is, the main causes for the problem, the main risk factors for the problem, and the best solutions for the problem in the micro and macro level. This will help to illuminate an array of opinions and perspectives about how to best confront this issue head on.

For example, the survey given to community members would have questions on it such as “It is acceptable to scream at an elderly adult: yes/no/sometimes.” Or: “I sometimes borrow money from the elderly adult in my care without asking for permission: yes/no/sometimes.” These items on the scale will be designed to essentially “take the temperature” of the community and determine how appropriate or inappropriate people are when it comes to the way they engage with the elderly. In.