Elderly Neglect Research Paper

519 Words3 Pages

Society has changed throughout the course of time. A few years ago, society considered the elderly one of the most respected figures and for some it still is. Someone we could go to if we needed to be heard and/or request advice. Nowadays, society has become more individualistic and has lost the ability to care for the elderly. Getting old corresponds to a vulnerable part of human life. Like childhood, the elderly represent an age group that is at greater risk, needs special protection and medical care, to include legal, social and emotional assistance. That is why the topic of choice is to describe the importance that should be attributed to neglect, a situation that some people suffer at some stage in their life. Society needs to be educated to …show more content…

Neglect is “A caregiver's failure or refusal to provide for a vulnerable elder's safety, physical, or emotional needs”. When the elderly become economically, physically, and emotionally dependents of their children, often the roles of father and son are reversed. In a family, there are different stages in which each member is classified, such as infancy, adults and elderly. Most of the members of a household that have reached the elderly stage, feel excluded or displaced by the rest of the members of the family. Personally I think that one of the most common reasons why the elderly is neglected is because they are not productive in economic terms to the family group, becoming a potential burden. This situation causes the breakdown of human interaction, relationships, communication, and even affection. All of these emotions are of great importance to the strengthening and growth of the family. When the break occurs in the points noted above, the elderly withdraws, reducing their social interaction, leading to a number of implications such as abandonment, isolation, sudden changes in bonding and