In his latest Huffington Post blog, AFAR Medical Officer Richard W. Besdine, M.D., draws attention to the relationship between elder abuse and health, particularly as a concern for geriatric professionals and personal caregivers.
Defining elder abuse as “the physical, psychological or sexual harm, neglect (self-neglect or by a caregiver) or financial exploitation of vulnerable older people,” Dr. Besdine states “that elder abuse has devastating and far-reaching health consequences, and triples the risk of premature death, compared to a group of older adults with similar medical problems…”
The article also includes insights from Board Member and 1995 Beeson Scholar Dr. Mark Lachs, 2013/2014 COE Scholar Dr. Lidia Vognar, and 2008 Beeson Scholar Dr. XinQi Dong.
Richard Besdine, MD, is the David S. Greer, M.D., Professor of Geriatric Medicine, Professor of Medicine, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Director, Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, and Director, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Brown University.
Quality care is a key element for healthy aging. For more information on caregiving, read our Ask the Expert interview on the topic here.
