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Neglect and Self-Neglect of Older Adults

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Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan

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Abstract

Elder neglect is the failure by those responsible to provide food, shelter, health care, or protection for a vulnerable elder. Self-neglect is the failure to provide for one’s self. Both are among the most commonly reported cases to Adult Protectives Services which is the agency in every state in the USA charged with the investigations of complaints about the well-being and health as well as the protection of vulnerable adults.

These two phenomena arise when the older person experiences a decline in either mental or physical function. This decline is often caused by diseases such as dementia, depression, alcohol abuse, frailty, or late life psychiatric and geriatric syndromes. These illnesses or normal aging often lead to executive dysfunction: the inability to plan, sequence, and carry out the tasks of daily living. Those with impaired cognition can lose decision-making capacity as well as the capacity for self-care and self-protection. When caregiver support is either substandard or absent, the result is serious morbidity and mortality. (See Chap. 194, “Intersectionality of Elder Abuse and Mental Health Issues: Needs and Interventions for Victims.”)

Social justice for these vulnerable seniors can be achieved through various channels. These include the training of health care providers, universal screening, the more widespread use of multidisciplinary intervention teams, and community senior centers. Future strategies include the establishment of forensic centers, more in-depth research, as well as the use of information technology to increase access and efficiency for afflicted older adults.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Carmel Dyer

  2. School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Michael Brad Cannell

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, McGovern Medical School, UTHealth, Houston, TX, USA

    Jason Burnett

Authors
  1. Carmel Dyer
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  2. Michael Brad Cannell
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  3. Jason Burnett
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carmel Dyer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma, San Diego, CA, USA

    Robert Geffner

  2. Department of Psychology College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Jacquelyn W. White

  3. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    L. Kevin Hamberger

  4. Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

    Alan Rosenbaum

  5. Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Viola Vaughan-Eden

  6. Education and Research, Zero Abuse Project, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Victor I. Vieth

Section Editor information

  1. Global Health Care Center, Fordham University, New York, NY, USA

    Mary Beth Morrissey

  2. Professor of Medicine/Geriatrics, Psychiatry, Dentistry, Clinical Nursing, & Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA

    Thomas Caprio MD

  3. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    L. Kevin Hamberger Ph.D

  4. Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

    Alan Rosenbaum Ph.D

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© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Dyer, C., Cannell, M.B., Burnett, J. (2022). Neglect and Self-Neglect of Older Adults. In: Geffner, R., White, J.W., Hamberger, L.K., Rosenbaum, A., Vaughan-Eden, V., Vieth, V.I. (eds) Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89999-2_86

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