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Elder AbuseWhat Can Physicians Do?
Arch Fam Med. 1996;5(2):88-90.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings. |
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PHYSICIANS have been pivotal in focusing attention on the problems of child abuse and spouse abuse but, to date, have not shown a comparable involvement in efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat elder abuse. Although child abuse received attention in the 1960s and spouse abuse in the 1970s, the topic of elder abuse only began to receive attention in this country with the Senate Select Committee on Aging hearings of 1980. The summary of these hearings called the problem of elder abuse "a shameful and hidden problem" and suggested that one million seniors were victims of mistreatment.1 A 1991 Congressional report2 estimated that two million persons older than 60 years of age are abused annually in the United States. The American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Scientific Affairs has produced a report on elder abuse that states that abuse occurs in "approximately 10% of Americans over 65 years
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
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