Elder abuse has been increasingly recognised over the past ten years in many countries and progress has been made in both understanding and addressing the issue. This volume provides a much-needed international overview of the topic. Opening with an examination of what elder abuse is, Amanda Phelan sets it in a theoretical context and looks at assessment and approaches to the issue in residential and community care environments. The book then presents a range of country studies, which provide an overview of the context of elder abuse in the country and a discussion of related policy, legislation, research and practice. Countries covered include Ireland, United Kingdom, Spain, China, Australia, Kenya, Israel, Canada and the United States, whilst a regional chapter looks at South America. A concluding chapter draws together cross-cultural comparisons and provides some guidance as to best practice. The only comprehensive book in this area, International Perspectives on Elder Abuse is an invaluable reference for practitioners, academics and researchers from a range of disciplines, including nursing, social work, sociology, public health and social policy.
Here is an informative overview of the causes and consequences of elder abuse in countries around the world. This book delves into the global problem of elder abuse and identifies similarities and differences that occur from country to country. Elder Abuse: International and Cross-Cultural Perspectives increases understanding of the problem of elder abuse, helping you recognize more easily the causes of elder abuse in your own country and find tactics to counter these causes. Strategies from around the world can help in the development of local community resources and social policies to minimize the occurrence of elder abuse and its impact on the elderly, their families, and all members of society.Elder Abuse: International and Cross-Cultural Perspectives discusses elder abuse in countries ranging from Australia to Finland, from South Africa to Hong Kong, from Ireland to Israel. It addresses the consequences of aging, dynamics of elder abuse, family care of the elderly, formal and informal mechanisms for preventing elder abuse, and methods by which to publicize possibilities of abuse. In each chapter, authors explore: the definition of elder abuse in their country the extent of the problem causes of the problem (as related to values and practices) societal attitudes regarding the existence of the problem private and public efforts to detect and prevent the problem and to intervene where it has occurredElder Abuse: International and Cross-Cultural Perspectives provides the impetus for community resources, social planning, and public resources. It is of interest to individuals who work in social work, nursing, and psychology settings and to those in social science fields of sociology, anthropology, and gerontology. The book can also serve as an enlightening reader for undergraduate and graduate/professional education.
This first-of-its-kind work on elder abuse and mistreatment provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the subject. Covering almost all regions of the world, it highlights different dimensions of elder abuse and mistreatment in terms of their prevalence, incidence, prevention, treatment, management and response from governments and civil society, academic and research communities, and society in general. Written by international specialists from various disciplinary and presenting the latest findings and data, the handbook includes sections on the Americas; the Caribbean; Europe; Central, West and South Asia; East Asia and Asia-Pacific; and Africa. The chapters offer clarity on the concept and forms of elder abuse and neglect, discuss research methodology, and provide policy options, legislative solutions and programmatic responses to give relief to older people as victims of abuse and neglect as well as to deal with the perpetrators. This book is intended for a wide range of students and researchers interested in aging, from sociology, to social work, community medicine, public health, clinical psychology, and human rights/law.
Elder abuse has been increasingly recognised over the past ten years in many countries and progress in working with the problem has been rapid. This volume provides a much-needed international overview of the topic
This book provides an insight into advances in elder abuse in the areas of research, policy, practice and legislation. It provides readers with a broad understanding of the topic and considers the progress in elder abuse knowledge. The book explores the nexus of ageism and elder abuse, describes key social policies and their legislative manifestation, covers major policies and programs related to elder abuse, defines elder sexual abuse and much more. It offers the reader a comprehensive insight into new perspectives and approaches to both understanding and responding to elder abuse. As such it will be an asset to academics, students, healthcare practitioners, policy makers and the general public.
Provide the most effective service possible to help victims of this growing social problem Elder Abuse and Mistreatment is a comprehensive overview of current policy issues, new practice models, and up-to-date research on elder abuse and neglect. Experts in the field provide insight into elder abuse with newly examined populations to create an understanding of how to design service plans for victims of abuse and family mistreatment. The book addresses all forms of abuse and neglect, examining the value issues and ethical dilemmas that social workers face in providing service to elderly abuse victims and their families. Elder abuse and neglect is a social problem of increasing concern to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in the United States and around the world. Elder Abuse and Mistreatment incorporates health, mental health, and social service perspectives that assist social work and health care professionals with interdisciplinary teamwork. The book examines the Elder Justice Act, the Madrid 2002 International Plan of Action on Ageing, new and emerging practice modalities and international models such as shelter programs and support groups, and the latest research on practice methods, elder abuse with special populations, and interventions with victim-abuse dyads. Topics examined in Elder Abuse and Mistreatment include: abuse reporting statutes the roles of agencies involved in abuse investigations service commonly needed by victims funding sources common impediments to service delivery adult protective services (APS) local, state, and federal policies social and economic inclusion self-determination long-term care and nursing homes consumer fraud and financial abuse dependency and compliance and much more Elder Abuse and Mistreatment: Policy, Practice, and Research is an essential resource for educators and students of social work, nursing, and public health, and for social work practitioners.
Elder Abuse and Its Prevention is the summary of a workshop convened in April 2013 by the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Global Violence Prevention. Using an ecological framework, this workshop explored the burden of elder abuse around the world, focusing on its impacts on individuals, families, communities, and societies. Additionally, the workshop addressed occurrences and co-occurrences of different types of abuse, including physical, sexual, emotional, and financial, as well as neglect. The ultimate objective was to illuminate promising global and multisectoral evidence-based approaches to the prevention of elder maltreatment. While the workshop covered scope and prevalence and unique characteristics of abuse, the intention was to move beyond what is known about elder abuse to foster discussions about how to improve prevention, intervention, and mitigation of the victims' needs, particularly through collaborative efforts. The workshop discussions included innovative intervention models and opportunities for prevention across sectors and settings. Violence and related forms of abuse against elders is a global public health and human rights problem with far-reaching consequences, resulting in increased death, disability, and exploitation with collateral effects on well-being. Data suggest that at least 10 percent of elders in the United States are victims of elder maltreatment every year. In low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of violence is the greatest, the figure is likely even higher. In addition, elders experiencing risk factors such as diminishing cognitive function, caregiver dependence, and social isolation are more vulnerable to maltreatment and underreporting. As the world population of adults aged 65 and older continues to grow, the implications of elder maltreatment for health care, social welfare, justice, and financial systems are great. However, despite the magnitude of global elder maltreatment, it has been an underappreciated public health problem. Elder Abuse and Its Prevention discusses the prevalence and characteristics of elder abuse around the world, risk factors for abuse and potential adverse health outcomes, and contextually specific factors, such as culture and the role of the community.
"I found this book to be informative, well-researched, and well-thought out...The book is an asset to students, scholars, and seasoned practioners alike." --International Perspectives in Victimology "Lisa Nerenberg provides the first comprehensive look at elder abuse prevention trends and strategies. Drawing from existing models and examining salient factors, she outlines approaches to intervention that consider victims and perpetrators and engage communities and service systems. She also offers meaningful response to the many challenges endemic to elder abuse work. As a result, Lisa gives hope to the field." "Beginning as a grassroots advocate a quarter century ago in San Francisco, Lisa developed and tested many viable elder abuse prevention programs herself through the local elder abuse network before exploring best practices elsewhere. This unique evolution and perspective gives her the depth and breadth of understanding needed to write a book like this, able to resonate equally with adult protective service workers struggling to manage caseloads of vulnerable elders, law enforcement personnel trying to prosecute abusers, and academics searching for effective responses to the problem."-- --Georgia J. Anetzberger, PhD, ACSW Assistant Professor of Health Care Administration at Cleveland State University and Editor of the Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect Recipient of the Legal Assistance for Seniors' "Leading the Fight for Seniors' Rights" annual award for 2007! Drawing from over twenty years of experience helping communities improve their response to elder abuse, Lisa Nerenberg describes what agencies, communities, tribes, states, and national organizations are doing to prevent abuse, treat its effects, and ensure justice. She further explores what remains to be done and offers a plan for the future. In doing so, she addresses the broader challenges of fortifying the long-term care, protective service, and legal systems to meet the new and imminent demands of a burgeoning elderly population. In short, the book is about making communities safer places to grow old. Ms. Nerenberg begins by exploring trends that have shaped or defined practice in the field of elder abuse prevention including the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision; a shift in focus from protecting to empowering victims; an increasingly multicultural elderly population; the "globalization" of the field; and heightened understanding of the "psychology of victimization" (or why victims do what they do and perhaps more importantly, why they often don't do what professionals think they should). She further describes eight models and theories on which practice has been based ranging from the widely recognized adult protective service and domestic violence prevention models to lesser-known approaches such as the family preservation and restorative justice models. She describes specific interventions and approaches that each model has contributed, their benefits and limitations, what is known about their impact, and factors that dictate what responses are appropriate to specific settings and situations. In addition to describing techniques used by individual practitioners, the author outlines strategies and services that agencies, communities, states, tribes, courts, and national organizations have designed, which include elder forensics centers, elder courts, family justice centers, elder shelters, "hybrid" multidisciplinary teams, fraud prevention programs, support groups, restorative justice programs, and culturally specific outreach campaigns. She details progressive public policy initiatives, which range from statutes that provide for the mandatory reporting of deaths in nursing homes, to efforts to improve the collection and distribution of restitution, to laws that address the role of undue influence in elder abuse.
This textbook focuses on the criminality and victimization of the elderly population. It provides a global perspective on the extent of the elderly crime and victimization, with international comparisons for addressing the problem. It explores the extent and types of crimes committed by the elderly, the characteristics of older criminals, and the responses of the criminal justice system (including prisons and institutions) to elderly criminals, including: diversion programs, community-based treatment programs, and special programs including health & mental health care services for older prisoners. The second part of the book covers victimization of the elderly. Research findings show that certain crimes including fraud, theft, and certain types of financial crimes disproportionately affect older people, and these types of crimes are growing in prevalence. This work explores the characteristics of older victims and the types of crimes that affect them. Finally, the book presents comparative international research on approaches to crime prevention, education, and legislation to address the victimization of the elderly. This work will be of interest to students in criminology and criminal justice, as well as related fields such as sociology, and gerontology.
This edited book is based on original work of authors. It discusses elder abuse issues and brings focus on different ways of combating it. The topic of elder abuse has gained importance in recent years especially with ageing of the populations and increase in the number of older people in societies. Australia and India are two important and leading countries in the Asia Pacific region. Their specific country responses are of interest in these regions and even for the world. Combating elder abuse has gained importance in recent times as there are not only different types of elder abuse identified in societies but also there exists various strategies to deal with the problem. What steps are being taken in Australia and India can be examples of combating the menace in the Pacific and Asian region. The book will of academic interest as it highlights an important concern with which academicians and researchers are increasingly getting involved in different countries and looking for solutions and ways to combat the growing problem from different disciplinary frameworks but mainly from social and legal perspectives which this book takes into account. This is first of its kind book which focuses on two important ageing countries, namely Australia and India, simultaneously, who are increasingly facing the problem of elder abuse, a growing global menace which requires different combating mechanisms to minimize its impact on societies. Social and legal perspectives on tackling the problem of elder abuse in different situations are gaining ground in countries and the chapters in this book discuss different aspects of ways to combat the problem by also discussing aspects of its occurrence in different sections of the society. Issues of vulnerabilities which older people face leading to elder abuse and what kind of societal responses are needed and are being adopted in societies to combat the problem has been highlighted by different authors in the book. Chapters written by experts from the social and legal field from the two countries, giving first-hand account of the situation in terms of care giving issues, financial abuse, rural areas, dementia patients, widows, prevailing legislations, residential care facilities, national and local responses, rights of senior citizens, and broader concerns related to combating the problem would be of interest to cross section of people across the world.
