REVIEW ARTICLE


Elder Abuse in America



Sabrina Pickens*, Carmel B. Dyer
University of Texas health Science Center-Houston School of Nursing 6901 Bertner Ave Houston, TX, 77030, USA


Article Metrics

CrossRef Citations:
0
Total Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 3990
Abstract HTML Views: 1585
PDF Downloads: 578
ePub Downloads: 446
Total Views/Downloads: 6599
Unique Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 1810
Abstract HTML Views: 942
PDF Downloads: 424
ePub Downloads: 330
Total Views/Downloads: 3506



Creative Commons License
© Pickens and Dyer; Licensee Bentham Open

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the University of Texas health Science Center-Houston, School of Nursing, 6901 Bertner Ave, Houston, TX, 77030, USA; Tel: +713/500.2141; Fax: +713-500-2073; E-mail: Sabrina.l.pickens@uth.tmc.edu.


Abstract

Elder abuse is a serious social and public health issue with estimates of approximately five and a half million annual reports in the U.S. Identifying and treating abused elders is difficult due to unstandardized protocols and identification guidelines as well as a lack of public awareness to the problem. An interdisciplinary approach in collaboration with Adult Protective Services investigation is paramount to the assessment and care for mistreated elders. Educating healthcare professionals, other professions, and the lay public through social media, local news, and community education can increase awareness to this often overlooked problem.

Keywords: Abandonment, Abuse, Elder abuse, Neglect, Older adults.