Introduction to Sociology

ABUSE IN NURSING HOMES

On December 29, 2018, a woman in a vegetative state at a nursing care facility in Arizona gave birth to a baby boy. The staff was surprised by both her pregnancy and birth, and investigation discovered that she had been raped by a nurse in the facility. This terrible case brought abuse in nursing and care facilities into the national limelight.
Institutional abuse refers to physical or psychological harms, as well as rights violations in settings where care and assistance is provided to dependent older adults or others, such as nursing homes. Recent studies of approximately 2,000 nursing home facility residents in the United States reported a growing abuse rate of 44% and neglect up to 95%, making elder abuse in nursing homes a growing danger. Exact statistics are rare due to elder abuse in general and specifically in nursing homes being a silent condition. Watch this TED talk, “Abuse Hurts at Any Age” by Catherine Aaronson to learn more about this type of abuse. You can also read more about elder abuse at the World Health Organization website.

THINK IT OVER

• 
  Make a list of all the biases, generalizations, and stereotypes about elderly people that you have seen or heard. Include everything, no matter how small or seemingly trivial. Try to rate the items on your list. Which statements can be considered myths? Which frequently turn into discrimination?
  
• 
  Have you known any person who experienced prejudice or discrimination based on age? Think of someone who has been denied an experience or opportunity simply for being too old. Write the story as a case study.
  
• 
  Older people suffer discrimination, and often, so do teenagers. Compare the discrimination of the elderly to that of teenagers. What do the groups share in common and how are they different?
  

TRY IT

14. 
    Which factor most increases the risk of an elderly person suffering mistreatment?
    
    1. 
       Having been abusive as a younger adult
       
    2. 
       Bereavement due to widowhood
       
    3. 
       The ability to bestow a large inheritance on survivors
       
    4. 
       Being frail to the point of dependency on care.
       

15. 
    If elderly people suffer abuse, it is most often perpetrated by ______________.
    
    1. 
       Strangers
       
    2. 
       Spouses
       
    3. 
       Caregivers
       
    4. 
       Lawyers
       
       
       

Check your answers at the end of this document