NCJ Number
145834
Journal
Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: (1992) Pages: 37-46
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Community health nurses, because of their functions and responsibilities, can be essential participants in the identification, prevention, and treatment of elder abuse.
Abstract
The etiology of elder abuse has been explained in various ways, including the strain placed on friends and family by the victim's physical and/or mental impairment, the effects of long-term internal and external stressors on the caregiver, the influence of learned violence, the pathologic personality of the abuser, and the effects of negative and dehumanizing societal attitudes toward older adults. The community health nurse is often responsible for case management for elderly clients with multiple chronic illnesses. The nursing process model can serve as a guide for community-based nursing practice, in its use of assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation stages. Assessments can be used to provide data to prove that elder abuse is occurring in a specific case. Primary, secondary, and tertiary intervention strategies common in community health nursing can be applied to preventing elder abuse through the assessment of a family's strengths and weaknesses, the reduction or termination of abuse that is occurring, and therapeutic intervention and referrals for family members who are affected by elder abuse. 26 references