According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Elder abuse is 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.”
In a study conducted by the WHO in 2017, it was estimated that 15.7 percent of people aged 60 or older experienced some sort of abuse, such as physical, verbal, emotional and/or financial, when the WHO reviewed collected data from 52 studies in 28 countries. Of note, in institutions such as nursing homes and long-term care facilities, 2 out of 3 staff members reported committing elder abuse within the past year. The WHO described abuse in institutions to include, but not be limited to, “physically restraining patients, depriving them of dignity (for instance, by leaving them in soiled clothes) and choice over daily affairs; intentionally providing insufficient care (such as allowing them to develop pressure sores); over- and under-medicating and withholding medication from patients; and emotional neglect and abuse.”
The need for innovation and transformative procedures is highly desired in the elder community. In a press release issued last month by Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, they announced that Rutgers’ Institute of Health, Healthcare Policy and Aging Research School is setting out to change those statistics and was permitted over $1.4 million in federal grants from The Elder Justice Innovation Grants which was established by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in 2016. In their joint press release, Sen. Booker and Sen. Menendez agreed that Americans should not have to worry about falling prey to exploitation and abuse as they age, especially when suffering from an incurable disease such as Alzheimer’s.