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CURBING ABUSE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ELDERLY

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“It is the most revered act of honour and privilege to carry in your hands; those who once carried you on their shoulders” – Adesuyi Adesina.
 
 
“Calling elder abuse a maltreatment is to take it lightly, it is an irredeemable and irremediable act” – Adesuyi Adesina.
 
 
 
 
WHAT IS ELDER ABUSE?
 
Any act of violent and non-violent maltreatment of older people, either in private or public by family members, close associates, strangers and institutions.
 
 
 
 
 
SCOPE OF PROBLEM
 
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), elder abuse was first described in British Scientific Journals in 1975 under the term “granny battering”
 
This is to let you know that it is a long aged problem.
Furthermore, (WHO) has said only 30% of the world’s elderly are covered by pension schemes. If you go through WHO fact sheet 2018 
 
You will discover that 1 in 6 people, aged 60 years and above suffered abuse within the community. 15.7% of people aged 60 years and older were found to have suffered some form of abuse in a study conducted among 28 countries with about 52 studies.
 
Let me not bore you with statistics, but it is obvious that if developed countries are having this level of problem, then it will be more alarming in the developing countries. Nigeria, for example has no health insurance cover for older persons, let alone housing for them.
 
Also, there is no system in place to protect them from abuse.  WE HAVE WORK TO DO!
 
TYPES OF ELDER ABUSE
 
Let us look at this under the following subheadings:
PHYSICAL ABUSE : This involves hitting, pushing and mal-handling them.
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE : This is using foul, abusive and derogatory words when talking to them. It also involves hurting them emotionally.
 
FINANCIAL ABUSE : This comes as either spending their money without getting consent from them, or not giving them enough money that can take care of their need. This attitude alone can make them end up on the street as beggars.
 
SOCIAL ABUSE : When you deny them of social activities, and it is not of any health and safety benefits to them, this is tantamount to abuse. In addition, it includes any form of incarceration.
 
SEXUAL ABUSE : There has been a few report of sexual abuse in older persons. Therefore, be very sure of who you are leaving  them with. Always do due diligence before committing them to any care home.
 
CLASSIFICATION OF ABUSE
 
Abuse can be classified as follows:
 
✓ Neglect
✓ Abusive
✓ Exploitative
 
OFFENDERS
 
Who are the people that perpetrate this evil? It will interest you to know that they include:
 
FAMILY MEMBERS : I am always baffled when I see people treat their elderly parents with disdain, this is gross irresponsibility! Such a  barbaric act should be punishable under the law.
 
SPOUSE : This is likely to happen if you have your older persons living with you. It is important that you truly talk things out with your spouse before going this route.
 
STRANGERS : These group of offenders are the most dangerous, they cause harm physically, emotionally and otherwise to the elderly, and walk away with no shame or any iota of guilt. Please protect your elderly parents from strangers.
 
INSTITUTIONS : Most institutions do not have any consideration for the elderly, especially public institutions. We must begin to change this horrible act. Whether you work in a public or private institution, I want you to be an advocate for enviable and laudable senior citizens treatment. After reading this post, I want you to make a conscious decision to be nice to older persons in your society, always be ready to help and defend them.
 
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF ELDER ABUSE
 
  • Injury
  • Hunger
  • Stigmatisation
  • Depression
  • Suicide
  • Disability
  • Death
 
SOLUTIONS
 
Seriously are there solutions to this absurd act? Yes, there are solutions, and it starts with you.
 
I. BE AN ADVOCATE FOR THE ELDERLY : The world will be a better place if we all change, one person at a time. This is one of my major goal, to create awareness, reorientate people and drive it into their consciousness, that our senior citizens deserve to be treated with respect. I am making you an ambassador for the elderly, it is your duty from today to start looking out for them.
 
II. NATIONAL ELDER ABUSE PREVENTION CENTER : Countries like Canada and Australia have what is called; Canada Network For Prevention Of Elder Abuse and Australia Network For Prevention Of Elder Abuse respectively. While in UK they have what is called; Action On Elder Abuse. With God on our side, this is the kind of policies that Ganat Healthcare Initiative will be pushing for in no distant future.
 
III. FORMULATION OF LAWS : This is highly needed, mostly in developing countries. There should be a bill containing the detailed rights of the elderly ones amongst us, of course such bill will need to be sponsored. If you have the capacity to sponsor such bills, kindly get in touch, Ganat Healthcare Initiative will be glad to work with you, and posterity will never forget you.
 
IV. UNITED NATIONS INVOLVEMENT (UN) : Ganat Healthcare Initiative is joining her voice with other NGOs and international organizations calling on the UN and WHO to ensure that their member countries prioritise senior citizens protection and keep them from abuse.
 
JUNE 15
 
All over the world, June 15, has been designated as WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY.
 
This day is an international UN observance day, which came into existence as a result of the UN resolution 66/127.
 
I am using this opportunity to plead with you to reach out to the elderly people around you, touch their lives positively, even if it is one person. No act of kindness is too small, make June 15, a special day for one elderly person around you. All things being equal, Ganat Healthcare Initiative is planning to have an online broadcast looking at the legal, medical and psychological aspects of elderly persons abuse on that day.
Again, I like to thank you for reading this far. I look forward to your contributions, suggestions and questions. Thank you.
 
AUTHOR
 
My name is Adesuyi Adesina, the founder and CEO of  Ganat Healthcare Initiative. I am passionate about the care and health of older persons in our society. Senior citizens deserve good elderly care homes and better healthcare services.
dradesina@ganathealthcare.com

THE ROLES OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN ENSURING THE WELL BEING OF THE ELDERLY.

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“Family provides us with the feathers with which we take our first flight in life”- Adesuyi Adesina.
 
Michael J. Fox puts in a fantastic way by saying “Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.” Family is the fundamental unit of every society. No one needs the support of family more than the elderly or senior citizens.
 
 
Most times, older persons are often neglected by their families, as a result of their pursuit of other life events, we can be busy with work, we can be far away in another country and forget to care for them.
My post today is to challenge you to do better, you can do better, and I will be sharing with you how to do that.
 
CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE THAT NEED THE SUPPORT OF FAMILY.
 
Everybody does need the support of family, we all need one another. However, I have identified three (3) categories of people that need it more. If you have anyone in the categories below, please, do whatsoever is in your power to give them the needed support.
 
– Children
– People with disabilities
– Elderly/Senior citizens ✓
 
 SPECIFIC WAYS OF SUPPORTING OLDER PERSONS.
 
1. VISITATION:  As simple as it sounds, this is the most important thing among all the things I will be sharing with you today. Visiting your aged parents, uncles, aunties and family members will help you discover a lot. Such as, their living conditions, health and well being. You will have one on one conversation with them. This is golden! I enjoy talking to my mother, just sitting by the bedside and talking to her. It always feels great.
 
2. MONTHLY UPKEEP: You have to make conscious effort to include them in your budget. Write it in your diary and be committed to it. Just like you budget for your car, home and projects. Your elderly ones should be included. Most people give their aged parents what is left after they have spent almost all the money on other things. This is wrong. I want you to write this in your diary today: MONTHLY BUDGET FOR MY AGED PARENTS = { put a figure you can keep up with every month} You will be glad you did.
 
3. MEDICAL CARE: Every senior citizens should have a primary care physician. This physician will know them personally, this is the doctor who takes care of them when they are sick, he also refers them to a specialist if they need a specialist care. I want you to look around where your aged parents live, find a primary care physician in either a private or public hospital and register them there. You can also request for home consultation for them, the healthcare workers will come and meet them at home to attend to their health needs. This can be a little expensive.
 
4. CARE GIVER: It is important to say that I know most people are busy with work, business and other projects. Some people do not even live in the same town or country with their aged parents. The option of a care giver or home assistant can be explored. This is a process whereby you employ someone to look after and care for your parents. If you are doing this, ensure you do the followings:
 
– The care giver must be screened medically
– Ensure the care giver is responsible
– Care giver must provide references
– The duties of the care giver must be clearly stated
– Care giver must have the capacity to carry out stated duties.
 
5. CARE HOMES: There are elderly care homes all around us. If you are not around, and there is no one to look after your elderly parents, please consider this option. Do not leave them alone at home, they can be left for few hours, but not days, months and years. There are good elderly homes you can put them. At Ganat Healthcare Initiative, we are waiting for this COVID-19 pandemic to taper down before we launch our Elderly Care Home, which is going to be free by the grace of God, and the help of our sponsors and donors.
 
6. SOCIAL OUTINGS: Socialisation should be encouraged among senior citizens, they should be encouraged to go to church, mosque, parks and other lovely places. This will improve their mental health status, and allow for minimal exercise. Unfortunately, this may not be practicable at the moment due to the ongoing pandemic.
 
7. NUTRITION: I have written about this in my previous post. Kindly refer to my post here to learn more about this.
 
8. EMOTIONAL SUPPORT: This is very important, and  should come from family members. The aged in our societies deserve our support in little things, apart from providing for their needs physically, their psychological well-being is equally important. This will make them live longer and stay healthier.
 
This is how to demonstrate love for older persons, let them know you care about them. I want you to cultivate the habit of loving older persons specially. Let me end with the words of Friedrich Nietzsche ; “In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony.” And  Barbara Bush said ; “To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.”
 
Thank you for reading this far, your comments and questions would be appreciated.
 
Author
 
My name is Adesuyi Adesina, the founder and CEO of Ganat Healthcare Initiative. I am passionate about the care and health of older persons in our society. Senior citizens deserve good elderly care homes and better healthcare services.
dradesina@ganathealthcare.com