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Safeguarding older people from abuse: critical contexts to policy and practice
- Author:
- ASH Angie
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 208
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Drawing on findings of original UK research and framed in an international context, this book illustrates ways in which ageism, under-resourced services to older people, target-driven health and social care policy and services, and organisational cultures of blame and scapegoating, are a powerful yet invisible backcloth to elder abuse. Chapters cover: Contexts to safeguarding older people from abuse; The need for theory, critical thinking and practice; The abuse of older people; Adult protection, safeguarding and personalisation; Public policy implementation in street-level bureaucracies; A case study of street-level policy implementation to protect older people from abuse; Discretion and dissonance in adult protection work; Cultures and contexts of complicity; Ethics, policy and practice; and Safeguarding older people from abuse: ethical futures. (Edited publisher abstract)
Elder abuse: clinical, ethical and legal considerations in social work
- Authors:
- DONOVAN Kirsten, REGEHR Cheryl
- Journal article citation:
- Clinical Social Work Journal, 38(2), June 2010, pp.174-182.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Social work intervention in cases of elder abuse is often fraught with ambiguity and ethical dilemmas as the application of professional principles is less than straightforward, bringing to the fore personal, legal, and ethical concerns in the management of the client’s safety and well-being. This article addresses challenges which arise from the complexity of elder abuse cases and reviews clinical, ethical, and legal obligations to inform ethical decision-making. The issues are considered from a Canadian perspective.
Ethical and psychosocial issues raised by the practice in cases of mistreatment of older adults
- Authors:
- BEAULIEU Marie, LECLERC Nancy
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 46(3/4), 2006, pp.161-186.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Intervention regarding older adult mistreatment raises many questions for practitioners. They have to interact with the victim, the abuser, and, in many cases, with both of them at the same time. In such cases, five themes emerge from the literature review on psycho-social and ethical issues in practice: practitioners' pre-construction and axiological frameworks, victims' capacity, confidentiality versus collaboration between practitioners or between agencies, social and family responsibilities and the balance between competing values in practice. Practitioners are well placed to offer a critical reflection on their practice and on ways of improving it. The goal of this qualitative Canadian study is to identify issues and ethical dilemmas in elderly mistreatment situations as represented in the discourses of practitioners in reference to interventions in their psychosocial practice. Sixteen practitioners from the public and community (non-profit organization) sectors were interviewed using a practice history approach. This paper presents the main ethical and psychosocial issues raised by practitioners and some ideas to improve the practice. It is motivated by the crucial question haunting the practitioners' minds: “How far should we go?” (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Blowing the whistle on abuse
- Author:
- CALCRAFT Rebecca
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 9(2), June 2005, pp.18-21.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Author presents the preliminary findings of her research into the circumstances surrounding whistleblowing and makes recommendations for best practice. The main findings of the research suggested that speaking out impacted mentally on both the whistleblower and team dynamics. Key factor influencing decision was whether or not concerns would make a difference and not wanting to be associated with 'telling tales'. Finally, training courses were considered a place where people had an ideal opportunity to speak out. Recommendations included implementing a whistleblowing policy, support to staff and building a positive and open culture in the workplace.
An ethical dilemma in elder abuse
- Author:
- LINZER Norman
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 43(2/3), 2004, pp.165-174.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
While most elder abuse is perpetrated by family members, some may be performed by strangers. When the elderly victim reaches out to the social agency but then refuses services, an ethical dilemma is created for the social worker. Conflicts arise among social work values and the ethical principles of autonomy and paternalism, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. A model of ethical justification is applied that explains the possible decisions in this case. The actual resolution of the dilemma is accomplished through a social work practice principle. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)
Ethical dilemmas of reporting suspected elder abuse
- Authors:
- BERGERON L. Rene, GRAY Betsey
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work: A journal of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 48(1), January 2003, pp.96-105.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Support groups for caregivers of older people may help prevent elder abuse by reducing caregiver stress and linking caregivers to community services. Using case illustrations, this American article raises the dilemmas that group facilitators face when deciding whether to report a group member suspected of abusing his or her elder care recipient. Discusses the ethical concerns of reporting or withholding a report, and provides recommendations to assist facilitators in the decision making process.
Ethics and the street-level bureaucrat: implementing policy to protect elders from abuse
- Author:
- ASH Angie
- Journal article citation:
- Ethics and Social Welfare, 4(2), July 2010, pp.201-209.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Abingdon
This personal essay describes how the author was an independent researcher, registered social worker and long-term, long-distance carer. The care of older people, and protection of elders from abuse, had been constant professional and personal foci for the author for many years. When commissioned to review a case involving the serious abuse of an elder where official safeguarding procedures had not been used, the author puzzled why this had been managed 'informally' by social services and partner agencies outside of adult safeguarding procedures, with vague unspecified monitoring. The author asks “why was there this apparent gap between policy intention and implementation?” That question led to research on the ethics of care and policy implementation on which this essay is based.
Older women’s perceptions of elder maltreatment and ethical dilemmas in adult protective services: a cross-cultural exploratory study
- Authors:
- DAKIN Emily, PEARLMUTTER Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 20(1), January 2009, pp.15-57.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This study is based on the themes revealed by eight focus groups conducted with 88 African American, Latina and Caucasian women aged 60 and over from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. It explored their perceptions of elder abuse and of three ethical dilemmas associated with intervention: mandatory reporting of abuse; the use of involuntary protection; and the criminalisation of elder abuse. The participants demonstrated a broad and inclusive view of elder abuse: though generally excluding self-neglect, which is responsible for most referrals to adult protective services, they extended the definition to cover societal maltreatment such as abandonment in nursing homes. In response to case vignettes, they showed strong support for protection over the wishes of clearly vulnerable adults by favouring mandatory reporting, involuntary protection and criminalisation of elder abuse. Throughout, differences in responses by ethnic and socioeconomic status are highlighted.
Self-determination and elder abuse do we know enough?
- Author:
- BERGERON L. Rene
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 46(3/4), 2006, pp.81-102.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This American article explores the principle of self-determination as it relates to victims of elder abuse and neglect. Using newspaper accounts and cases from the author's practice and consulting files, various factors influencing the professional's interpretation of this principle are explored. The notion that self-determination allows victims of abuse and neglect to refuse intervention is challenged. The author concludes that the principle of self-determination and the notion of competency are overly simplified in the social work and elder abuse literature and may be misused by allowing abused older victims to choose to remain in often life-threatening situations. Special focus is given to Adult Protection Service worker, but the author asserts that protecting older people, assisting in creative interventions and developing needed services is a shared professional responsibility. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Ethical issues in distinguishing sexual activity from sexual maltreatment among women with dementia
- Author:
- LINGLER Jennifer Hagerty
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 15(2), 2003, pp.85-101.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
A report from the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) defines sexual abuse as nonconsensual sexual contact of any kind with an elderly person. While such forces as ageism, sexism, and hypercognitivism uniquely situate women with dementia as at risk for sexual maltreatment, autonomy-centered bioethical approaches may, like the NCEA, fail to differentiate between coercive and assentual forms of “nonconsensual” sexual activity. This critical analysis brings to light the complexity of sexual ethics in the context of cognitive impairment. The author argues, from a relationship-centered perspective, that although women with dementia are particularly vulnerable to abuse certainly some, if not most, sexual activity between loving spouses may be morally permissible even when one partner has dementia and cannot consent. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)