In a nursing home, you need to keep an eye out for various hazards. Sadly, many residents experience abuse, which takes numerous forms. Sometimes, nursing home abuse is very hard to recognize, but in other instances it is blatantly obvious. For example, some older adults suffer physical or sexual assault.
Assault can result in many different hardships for victims and generate emotional pain for their loved ones as well. Moreover, some older adults are especially likely to experience assault.
Statistics on nonfatal assault and older adults
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 643,000 older adults received emergency room treatment due to nonfatal assault between 2002 and 2016. Moreover, the CDC states that males were more likely to experience nonfatal assault than females. During this time period, the nonfatal assault rate among older men went up by over 75%. Between 2007 and 2016, the nonfatal assault rate among older women went up by 35%.
The impact of assault among older adults
Whether you experience assault firsthand or you have an older family member suffering due to abuse in a nursing home, it is vital to understand the impact of assault. Assault can result in worsened health conditions, an earlier death, broken bones and brain trauma. Moreover, relatively minor injuries are also debilitating for many older adults, such as scratches and cuts (that can become infected) and painful bruises. From an emotional point of view, assault is also very devastating. When a nursing home worker or any other individual assaults an older adult, they must answer for their actions.