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RISK FACTORS AND
RED FLAGS OF ELDER ABUSE

RISK FACTORS OF ELDER ABUSE

  • The victim has dementia

 

  • The perpetrator and/or the victim has mental health and/or substance abuse issues

 

  • Social isolation

 

  • Poor physical health, which increases vulnerability and thereby may increase risk

Learn More:

Administration on Aging. (2012) How to Answer Those Tough Questions about Elder Abuse. 

RED FLAGS OF ELDER ABUSE

  • Sudden changes in the elder’s appearance: poor hygiene, dressed improperly for the weather, sunken eyes, bedsores, loss of weight.

  • Sudden changes in the elder’s personality; increased or unreasonable levels of anxiety, fearfulness and/or depression.

  • The elder becomes uncommunicative and unresponsive.

  • Sudden or swift decline in the health; malnourishment or sudden loss of weight.

  • Visible injury that has not been cared for, or cannot be explained with a realistic explanation.

  • A change in routine, no longer attending events or participating in events enjoyed in the past.

  • Social isolation/ not allowed to visit alone. Sudden loss of ability to meet financial obligations.

  • Going without things the elder needs or has always had in the past.

  • The elder states that they have had conflicts or problems with their caregiver and/or they use coded disclosures.

Learn More:

National Center on Elder Abuse. (2015) Red Flags of Abuse.

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