Importance of caregiver-elder relationship: Pay attention to the signs (elder abuse)

Retirement can pose serious challenges to elderly lives. More often than not, it causes loneliness in seniors after their busy career span and fulfilment of personal responsibilities. This could lead to serious consequences like elder abuse and social isolation making life tormenting. Let us explore how a proper caregiving relationship can overcome this dangerous hurdle and enable seamless aging.

Aging poses multiple challenges to the older generation making the transition to retired life cumbersome. Loneliness in elders is a common concern because making new friends can be difficult as the opportunities to meet and connect with people dwindle as one gets older. This issue further assumes paramount challenges in crisis times as the coronavirus epidemic. Such isolation has a profound impact on their health particularly their mental well-being and also makes them easy prey for elder abuse.

Though abuse of older women was more predominant earlier, we are seeing a rising number of cases for abuse of older men too in the current pandemic, unfortunately. World Health Organization (WHO) statistics reveal that nearly one in six persons from the senior generation were subject to some form of abuse in community settings last year. Besides, episodes of elderly abuse are largely concealed thanks to fear and social status which attaches an inevitable stigma in seniors. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right kind of care facilities and caregivers for protecting the elders. Athulya Assisted Living facilities, a premium luxury assisted living home in Chennai provides a safe and secure abode for retired people. Thanks to decades of geriatric experience and hand-picked professionally trained caregivers, elders here are treated with the utmost care, compassion and dignity. The well-crafted living spaces and the state-of-art amenities supported by the caring onsite staff ensure that all the needs of elders are carefully met to ensure hassle-free aging. The various checkpoints and safety mechanisms deployed at Athulya Assisted Living safeguard residents from all forms of abuse while simultaneously ensuring that they enjoy freedom and privileges to the best extent possible.

As the global population is expected to rise to two billion by 2050, it is forecasted that cases of elder abuse are also expected to increase dramatically. So let us now dwell deeper into it and see how a good caregiver relationship can overcome it.

Various Forms of Elder Abuse

• Physical
• Emotional/Psychological
• Sexual
• Material/Financial
• Neglect
• Abandonment
• Self-neglect

Common Signs of Elder Abuse

• Injuries, wounds and fractures such as bruises, cuts and broken bones
• Malnutrition
• Sudden weight loss without serious health problems
• Poor personal hygiene
• Evident signs of confusion, overwhelming, stress and anxiety
• Unexplained financial loss and  transactions
• Social withdrawal particularly from family and friends circle

Importance of Caregiver-Elder Relationship in preventing Elder Abuse

A compassionate and experienced caregiver can protect seniors from the atrocities of elder abuse in multiple ways-

• Assisting elders in daily living activities like bathing, dressing and grooming if they are not able to do it on their own so that they can maintain personal hygiene. Proper self-care is very important to maintain confidence and mental well-being.
• Encouraging socialization in seniors so that they are meaningfully engaged in friendly relationships and community involvement. This reduces the risk of loneliness which is usually dangerously manipulated.
• Supporting elders in using technology and assistive devices for communication, maintaining health parameters and learning new skills so that they are in constant touch with the outside world and engaged usefully.
• Keeping the elders physically active and encouraging consumption of nutritious foods so that they have good health, mobility and independence to be on their own largely. That remarkably reduces their dependency and vulnerability making them self-reliant and avoids caregiver burnout.
• Providing healthy companionship for elders to improve mental health and evade the onset of age-related diseases like dementia. Caregivers can encourage elders to play various board games like chess, Sudoku, crossword and puzzles to keep the brain active. It is seen that seniors with mental ailments and cognitive decline more often become targets of elder abuse.
• Reinforcing positivity for elders by building a better bonding of trust and reliability. Doing this gives a better rapport so that elders may express their feelings and concerns freely without inhibitions.
• Continuously monitoring seniors for any signs of anxiety and abuse and taking them for medical intervention and geriatric counselling if required. Elders may require the professional services of counsellors for psychological problems.
• Helping elders in joining various community initiatives, mentoring, volunteering activities and support groups so that they are socially connected.

In short, an amicable and trustful relationship between the caregivers and seniors goes a long way in preventing incidents of elder abuse and fostering a safe and secured life after retirement. The blissful life of residents at Athulya Assisted Living clearly reflects this aspect.