Community And Public Health Nursing: Promoting The Public's Health (8th Edition) 2014, - Assignment Example

Elder Abuse Elder Abuse Elder abuse is a rather sad picture of mistreatment of the old. Lachs and Pillemer(2004) observes that elder abuse has received increasing attention in the past decade and is a significant cause of morbidity among the old. The common types of elder abuse include neglect, emotional, physical, sexual or fiduciary abuse (Lachs & Pillemer , 2004). Neglect refers to the intentional failure of the caregiver to provide basic and essential care to an adult or the aged (Acierno, et al., 2010 ). Emotional abuse is described as the infliction of psychological pain, anguish or distress by use of verbal or non-verbal acts (Bond & Butler , 2013 ).

on the other hand, physical abuse refers to the infliction of bodily harm, impairment or physical pain by use of physical force (Gorbien & Eisenstein , 2011). Sexual abuse describes any form of non-consensual sex with an elderly individual (Acierno, et al., 2010 ). Lastly, fiduciary abuse refers to financial or material exploitation of an elderly individual through an improper use of his/her assets, property or funds (Lachs & Pillemer , 2004). In view of elder abuse, community nurses can intervene at all levels of prevention: primary, secondary and tertiary.

At the primary prevention, community nurses can engage in health promotion, education and protection. Their key roles would be providing positive coping strategies, social support and guidance. Furthermore, they can reduce factors that increase vulnerability as well as reducing hazards (Phelan , 2010 ). At the secondary prevention, community nurses can establish an early diagnosis, provide prompt treatment and report abuse. Finally, at the tertiary prevention, community nurses can provide rehabilitation services and continue with primary prevention strategies to avert future abuse (Phelan , 2010 ).

ReferencesAcierno, R., Her, M., Amstadter, A., Resnick, H., Steve, K., Muzzy, W., et al. ( 2010 ). Prevalence and Correlates of Emotional, Physical, Sexual, and Financial Abuse and Potential Neglect in the United States: The National Elder Mistreatment Study. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), 292–297. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.163089.Bond , M., & Butler , K. ( 2013 ). Elder abuse and neglect: definitions, epidemiology, and approaches to emergency department screening. Clinics in Geraitric Medicine, 29(1), 257-73. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2012.09.004.

Gorbien, M., & Eisenstein , A. (2011). Elder abuse and neglect: an overview. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 21(2), 279-92.Lachs , M., & Pillemer , K. (2004). Elder abuse. Lancet, 364(9441), 1263-72.Phelan , A. (2010 ). Elder abuse and the community nurse: supporting the patient. British Journal of Community Nursing, 15(10), 472-8.