33 - Elder Mistreatment

Abstract

Elder mistreatment is a growing public health concern. Five subtypes of mistreatment are generally recognized by researchers, health practitioners, and legal statutes: physical, psychological, sexual mistreatment, financial exploitation, and caregiver neglect. Elder mistreatment is associated with adverse health and wellbeing. In the United States, 10% of older adults age 60 years and older experienced some forms of mistreatment. There are many opportunities for healthcare professionals to intervene with cases of elder mistreatment throughout the healthcare systems. A total of 49 states (except New York) currently have made such reporting suspected elder mistreatment mandatory for medical, behavioral health services, and social service providers. Healthcare professionals should consider safety, access, cognitive status, emotional status, health and functional status, social and financial resources, frequency, severity, and intent in assessing for elder mistreatment. Interventions for elder mistreatment include programs to increase detection rate for prevention of elder mistreatment, educational interventions, and program to reduce factors influencing elder mistreatment. One of the most important developments in addressing elder mistreatment in recent years has been the use of multidisciplinary teams in hospitals and communities. Elder mistreatment often requires long-term or intermittent interventions before resolution. The establishment of an ongoing relationship between victim (or perpetrator) and healthcare professionals to follow up with elder mistreatment cases are important.