It no longer comes as a surprise for many Southern Californians that our elderly loved ones can be at serious risk of nursing home abuse and neglect in facilities that we once believed were safe. But recognizing that there is a problem is not enough to solve it. What can we do to prevent elder abuse in a large-scale, lasting way? A recent article in the Cornell Chronicle cited a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine, which underscored the significance of the “It Takes a Village” approach to putting a stop to elder abuse.
Profiling the Most Likely Victims of Elder Abuse
As the new study explains, we have not learned that rates of elder abuse are increasing. Instead, we have learned more about how frequently elder abuse occurs and to whom. Over the last several years, physicians and researchers have identified a certain profile of seniors who are most likely to become victims of nursing home abuse and neglect. Risk factors include but are not limited to: