Ethical Issues Concerning Elder Abuse In Nursing Homes

Elder abuse includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as neglect, exploitation and abandonment of our older generation (Falk, 2012). The people that cause these injuries include the elderly person’s own family and staff members of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, medical rehabilitation facilities and hospitals (NCOA, 2017). There is approximately 1 in 10 older adults that have experienced some type of elder abuse in the United States (NCOA, 2017). Within these staggering numbers, only 1

According to Ogungbure, The aim of research ethics is to ensure that research projects involving human subjects are carried out without causing harm to the subjects involved. (Ogungbure 2011) As a nurse it is important to follow the ANA code of ethics. Being aware and practicing ethical principles will help with treating the Patient and keep them informed with their healthcare choices. Nursing in itself can be challenging and everyday you can be faced with ethical dilemmas.

In some places, we have guidelines that are known internationally and give a framework for ethical research and this help to push the ethics codes that apply to research carried out in the NHS and universities in the UK.Code of conduct or practice for health and social care professional do not specific include research but the underlying principles of professional practice would be following the same pattern with expectations for ethical research. Below are some ethics principles that support with evidence all research.

There are globally known guidelines in place that offer a framework of ethics research and this influences the codes of ethical that apply to research carried out in the NHS and universities in the UK. Codes of conduct or practise for health and social care professionals do not openly contain research but the fundamental principles of professional practice would be reliable with hope for ethical research.

There are have been many cases of nursing home and elder abuse nation wide and all around the world. One case that occurred in Baltimore, Maryland that involved a man who worked in a long term care facility and hit one of his residents.(Lee, 2013) This resident was an 84 year old man. This man was only caught

Abuse can happen to anyone, but elderly adults residing in nursing homes are more vulnerable and have a higher risk for abuse (Rasansky Law Firm, 2006, para. 1). Elders are among the fastest growing in the population, and because of this many more elderly

An estimated twenty-one percent of nursing home residents are neglected at least once in the past twelve months and more than twenty-four percent are abused at least once during their entire stay (Schub & Kornusky, 2014). In a study of 718 family members and others responsible for those ages 60 and older receiving long-term care in a nursing home, an assisted living facility or paid homecare, nearly 30 percent reported at least one instance of elder abuse in the past year. Neglect was the most common form and sexual abuse the least (Anetzberger, 2012).

The third study provided a synthesis of previous literature on elder abuse in long-term care facilities within the last decade (Castle et al., 2015). Therefore, this study covers the years 2003 through 2012 (Castle et al., 2015). The study included analysis of 88 articles pertaining to elder abuse. This review study searched MEDLINE and the CINAHL databases for information pertaining to elder abuse in nursing homes (Castle et al., 2015).

Given the aging of the population, elder abuse has become more a prevalent and a more serious issue in recent years. "Every year, an estimated 4 million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological or other forms of abuse and neglect. Those statistics may not tell the whole story. For every case of elder abuse and neglect reported to authorities, experts estimate as many as 23 cases go undetected" (Elder abuse and neglect, 2013, APA report: 1). Elder abuse is both against the law and an ethical issue for the nurse. The nurse must find a way to ensure that the needs of the patient are taken care of, and the stress of the caregiver of the elderly person is managed appropriately. This paper will apply the five steps of ethical decision-making to dealing with the issue (Swinton 2007). The ethics of elder abuse deal with a number of issues that can be extremely sensitive subjects for the nurse; including parent-child relationships; past relationships amongst different members of the family; the responsibilities of caregiving; and the autonomy of the patient.

Abuse of elderly is prevalent throughout contemporary America. Elder abuse is the mistreatment of people, as defined by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization, 60 years of age older (JCAHO 2002). “Examples ranged from outright physical assault of old people in modernized cultures that have been sadly acculturated to so-called traditional forms of family violence, to the systematic ostracisation of tribal elders by the community in some less developed countries as a form of scapegoating.” There are several types of abuse toward the elderly, but in this outlet, I will explore the details of the physical, mental/emotional, sexual, and financial abuse.

Elders in the United States should not have to go through situations of abuse like the one Mildred Mortenson suffered. However, this type of situations happen more often than they should and sadly, there is not enough being done to prevent it. Elder abuse should be recognized as an increasing and very serious problem in our society. As elders grow more physically frail and begin to depend on others to meet their basic needs, they tend to become vulnerable to intentional abuse and neglect within their own home as well as assisted living facilities such as nursing homes. Unfortunately, it is not possible to know exactly how many elders are being abused across the Nation. Due to under-reporting, variations in the definition of elder abuse,

There are three basic principles to consider when evaluating the ethics of a study: 1) respect for persons, 2) beneficence, and 3) justice (Houser, J., 2012, pg. 54-56). To apply these

Are Nursing Home Care Practices In Compliance With Ethical Guidelines? A Case Study of the Death of an Older Woman in a Nursing Home Agenda Introduction Case Overview Finance and Quality Balance Ethical Issues Recommended Actions Conclusion Background Case Overview This case study by Kayser-Jones discusses: Ethical issues in the care during the last 11 months of life of a 101-year-old nursing home resident Largely bioethical issues that will not be covered Excerpt of an ethnographic study on death and dying in nursing homes (2000)

Is the topic of domestic abuse against the elderly people. Most people don’t realize that the elderly are victims to this offense, their age does not prevent them to becoming a victim. However, most of the time it isn’t a partner or family member that is abusing the elders. When looking at the news, it is usually the caretaker that is causing the abuse. It’s easier for the caretaker to abuse their client because they are needed to be taken care of. They could have trouble walking or must be isolated from the outside world because they are very sick and other medical reasons (Jackson & Hafemeister, 2013). This gives the abuser an advantage because they know their client can’t seek for

For the ethical considerations the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (n.d.) summarized that there are three basic ethical principles relevant to research involving human subjects. The three things stated by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (n.d.) are respect for persons, beneficence and justice. For the respect for the person each individual should be treated as autonomous agents as such the researcher should ensure that the participants of the research received a full disclosure of the nature of the study, risk, benefits and alternatives with a decent opportunity to ask questions. For the ones with diminished authority or those with either their mental or physical faculties are limited. They should not be forced to participate in the research. For the beneficence the researcher should maximize the benefits of the study while limiting the negative effects on the participants. For the justice part of ethics there should be fairness in the distribution of participants and there should be equitable selection off participants. For justice the researcher should not withhold any benefit the person should be entitled without any god reason. According to the American Psychological Association(2003) there are five principles for research ethics these principles help the researcher avoid problems in ethics. The five principles for research as stated by the American Psychological Association (2003) are discuss