Ethical and Legal Issues Involved with Signs of Senior Abuse

Ethical and Legal Issues For Health Care Professionals
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Ethical and Legal Issues For Health Care Professionals
Introduction
According to the a two-year review by the USA Today on the inspection records ranging from 2000 to 2002, over 5,300 assisted-living amenities expose senior persons to deadly risks (Pozgar, 2010). The research revealed that medication errors and bad staff training led to most of the injuries reported. Pozgar (2010) defines senior abuse as the risky treatment of older persons and entails neglect; emotional, financial (stealing or mishandling of a senior personal cash or property by an individual in a trusted with the senior), verbal, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; involuntary restriction and seclusion; corporal punishment. Neglect is the breach to offer the needed care to avert physical harm, including mental torment or the failure of medical staff to turn an old patient occasionally to avoid pressure sores (Pozgar, 2010).
Most states have passed statutes authorizing the reporting of elderly abuse. Generally, senior mistreatment is less expected to be reported compared to child abuse. Emotional and physical negligence as well as verbal and physical abuse is termed as the most common way of senior abuse. Seniors usually fail to report mistreatment cases due to the fear of vengeance and misbelief by authorities. Moreover, threats of settlement to a nursing home or disgrace that a family associate are involved usually hinder the individual from looking for help.
Signs of senior abuse
The rate of senior abuse cases happening so occasionally calls for the health professionals to understand the...