Elder Abuse

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) estimates that up to 5 million seniors suffer from abuse every year.

That being said, the exact numbers remain unclear as elder abuse  often goes unreported. The WHO estimates that just 1 out of 24 elder  abuse cases gets reported.

Elder abuse is a nationwide issue that affects millions of people each  year. Researchers and advocates collect data and compile statistics to  help better understand this widespread problem. By studying these  statistics, families can learn why abuse takes place, which groups of  seniors run a higher risk of being abused, and how to keep their loved  ones safe.

As of 2018, 52 million people in the U.S. were over the age of 65.  Nearly 1 in 10 of these people suffer from elder abuse every year,  according to some estimates. Anyone can commit elder abuse, from loved ones to caregivers to other  residents in a nursing home. And, elder abuse takes many forms,  including physical injuries, financial exploitation, and even sexual  battery.

Here are some important emotional elder abuse statistics:

• According to the Office on Women’s Health (OWH), caregivers are more  likely to emotionally abuse seniors (as opposed to spouses or family  members).
• Roughly 54 out of 129 seniors with dementia experienced some form of  psychological abuse from their caregivers, according to a 2010 study  from the Journal of American Geriatrics Society.
• 38% of elders reported they experienced at least one instance of  verbal abuse in a 2014 study conducted by Northeastern University  researchers.

Here are some important financial elder abuse statistics:

• Seniors lose at least $2.6 Billion a year due to financial abuse — and possibly more due to unreported cases.
• Only 1 in 44 cases of financial abuse is reported, according to the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA).
• NAPSA also notes that elderly victims of financial abuse are three  times more likely to die and four times more likely to enter a nursing  home.
• Financial abuse can take many forms, including identity theft, use  of debit or credit cards, lottery scams, telemarketing or internet  scams, or abuse of power of attorney.
• If a senior lives with a child that is unemployed or suffers from substance abuse, they run a greater risk of financial abuse.

Here are some important physical abuse statistics:

• Seniors who were physically abused had a 300% greater risk of  prematurely dying compared to those who had not been, according to a  study from the Journal of the American Medical Association.
• Spouses or other partners were the greatest culprits of physical  abuse, accounting for nearly 60% of all cases according to a study from  the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.
• In 2013, over 9,700 complaints about nursing home abuse were filed  in the U.S. The most common type of complaint involved physical abuse.

Here are some notable statistics about sexual abuse among seniors:

• Sexual abuse remains the least reported type of elder abuse,  according to data from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the World  Health Organization (WHO).
• According to the Administration for Community Living, nearly 16,000  reports of sexual abuse in nursing homes have been made since 2000.
• From 2013 to 2016, over 1,000 nursing homes were cited for sexual  abuse, according to data from a CNN report. Roughly 100 of these homes  received multiple citations during this time.

Important statistics about nursing home neglect include:

• The U.S. Justice Department notes that caregiver neglect is the most  unreported type of abuse, with 1 out of every 57 cases being reported.  Neglect is also one of the most common types of elder abuse.
• A 2011 study found that 21% of nursing home residents were neglected at least once over a 12-month period.
• Neglect accounted for 14% of complaints against nursing homes, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime.

source: https://www.nursinghomeabusecenter.com/elder-abuse/statistics/