Elder Abuse

‘A single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.’ This definition has been adopted by the WHO to explain the seriousness of elder abuse.

There have been efforts in understanding the prevalence of problems faced by old age people all over the world. It has been realized that abuse happens in many ways with elders such as physical, emotional, sexual, financial, neglect, abandonment, denying basic rights, institutional abuse etc.

At an early stage, identifying the signs of abuse can save of geriatric population from having a difficult end of life journey. Declining functional abilities, increased dependency, sense of helplessness and stress, worsening psychological decline, premature mortality and morbidity, depression and dementia, malnutrition etc.

There is a need to spread a lot of awareness in the society about the issue and take effective measures to curb the issue.