Elder Abuse And Dementia: A Review Of The Research And Health Policy

Abstract

Older adults with dementia may be at high risk for abuse, but the topic has not been well studied. We conducted a literature review to examine the relationships between elder abuse and dementia. We found that psychological abuse was the most common form of abuse among older adults, with estimates of its prevalence ranging from 27.9 percent to 62.3 percent. Physical abuse was estimated to affect 3.5-23.1 percent of older adults with dementia. We also found that many older adults experienced multiple forms of abuse simultaneously, and the risk of mortality from abuse and self-neglect may be higher in older adults with greater levels of cognitive impairment. We summarize programs and policies related to the abuse of older adults with dementia, including adult protective services, mandatory elder abuse reporting, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. We also summarize aspects of the National Alzheimer's Project Act, the Older Americans Act, and the Elder Justice Act. In spite of a recent increase in research and policy developments on elder abuse, challenges such as insufficient funding, limited knowledge about elder abuse, a lack of funding for the implementation of federal and state programs relevant to elder abuse and dementia, and a lack of dementia-specific training for front-line health care staff persist. Stronger programs targeting the well-being of older adults with dementia are needed.

Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes: Do Special Care Units Make a Difference? A Secondary Data Analysis of the Swiss Nursing Homes Human Resources Project

“…Elder abuse is associated with a negative impact on elders' physical and emotional health, including depression and anxiety, higher admission rates to skilled nursing facilities, and higher rates of mortality [3,[7][8][9] . Older adults with dementia are especially vulnerable to being abused by their carers [3,10] .…”

Prototype Development of a Responsive Emotive Sensing System (DRESS) to aid older persons with dementia to dress independently

“…Caregivers saw DRESS as an objective neutral intermediary that could buttress their negative emotional interactions that arose when either they and/or their family members were frustrated with dressing. They viewed the technology as offering the advantage of never becoming weary, tired, irritable, provoked or abusive 47 . With automated technology, a calm consistent response is given no matter how often or for how long prompting is needed.…”

State of the science on prevention of elder abuse and lessons learned from child abuse and domestic violence prevention: Toward a conceptual framework for research

“…As reviewed by Pillemer et al (2016), a prominent risk factor for abuse is dementia, and rates of physical violence have been found to be higher in caregiver/ care recipient dyads when the recipient has dementia (see Dong, Chen, & Simon, 2014, for a review). Additionally, rates are higher in settings which house such individuals, for example, assisted living (Castle & Beach, 2013) and nursing homes (Castle, 2012; Lachs, et al, 2016).…”