The elderly require love and care, but often they get to face abuse from their kin. They are forced to encounter it in silence. However, you can be smart and spot it by understanding the following signs.
1. Non-professional Medical Help
A lack of sufficient medical care is one of the most common forms of abuse that an older person may encounter from their loved ones. A family member may entrust the burden to an unidentified third party. Not only will the elderly feel separated from their family, but failing to seek medical treatment at the appropriate time could have serious consequences on their health.
2. Financial Abuse
This type of abuse entails the illegal or improper use, control, or withholding of any older person's property. It could be done without the person's personal knowledge. It entails a person's use of deception, insinuation, or improper influence.
3. Neglect
Neglect is commonly defined as a caregiver's failure to provide proper care for an aged person who is incapable of taking care of their food intake or health. In most cases, it is due to mental or physical constraints.
4. Abandonment
The deliberate desertion of an elderly family member at an elder care facility is a common kind of abandonment of an elderly person. In the majority of cases, such old persons suffer from dementia, Alzheimer's, or another form of cognitive impairment. The impacts of desertion might lead to depression even if they aren't suffering from a cognitive problem.
5. Exploitation
Exploitation is the unjust use of another person's resources for one's personal benefit. It can entail the use of a person's property, assets, or resources without their consent or that of a legally authorized agent.
(The author is Dr. Prateek Bhardwaj, COO, Vesta Elder Care)
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of India TV)
