Neglect and Abandonment 

Neglect

Neglect is defined as the refusal or failure to fulfill any part of a person's obligations or duties to an elder. This may also include failure of a person who has fiduciary responsibilities to provide care for an elder (e.g., pay for necessary home care services) or the failure of an in-home service provider to provide necessary care.

Neglect typically means the refusal or failure to provide an elderly person with such life necessities as food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, personal safety, and other essentials included in an implied or agreed-upon responsibility to an elder.

Signs and symptoms of neglect include but are not limited to :

•  dehydration, malnutrition, untreated bed sores, and poor personal hygiene;

•  unattended or untreated health problems;

•  hazardous or unsafe living condition/arrangements (e.g., improper wiring, no heat, or no running water);

•  unsanitary and unclean living conditions (e.g. dirt, fleas, lice on person, soiled bedding, fecal/urine smell, inadequate clothing); and

•  an elder's report of being mistreated.

Self Neglect

Tragically, sometimes older adults neglect their own care, which can lead to illness or injury. Self-neglect is characterized as the behavior of an elderly person that threatens his/her own health or safety. Self-neglect generally manifests itself in an older person as a refusal or failure to provide himself/herself with adequate food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medication (when indicated), and safety precautions.

The definition of self-neglect excludes a situation in which a mentally competent older person, who understands the consequences of his/her decisions, makes a conscious and voluntary decision to engage in acts that threaten his/her health or safety as a matter of personal choice.

Some examples of self-neglect are:

• Hoarding

• Failure to take essential medications or refusal to seek medical treatment for serious illness

• Leaving a burning stove unattended

• Poor hygiene

• Not wearing suitable clothing for the weather

• Confusion

• Grossly inadequate housing or homelessness

• Dehydration, malnutrition, untreated or improperly attended medical conditions, and poor personal hygiene

• Hazardous or unsafe living conditions/arrangements (e.g., improper wiring, no indoor plumbing, no heat, no running water)

• Inappropriate and/or inadequate clothing, lack of the necessary medical aids (e.g., eyeglasses, hearing aids, dentures)

Self-neglect accounts for the majority of cases reported to adult protective services. Oftentimes, the problem is paired with a decline health, isolation, Alzheimer's disease or dementia, or drug and alcohol dependency.

Linking older adults with support services within their communities can sometimes allow them to continue living on their own. Conditions like depression and malnutrition may be successfully treated through medical intervention. If the problems are severe enough, a guardian may be appointed.

Abandonment

Abandonment is defined as the desertion of an elderly person by an individual who has assumed responsibility for providing care for an elder, or by a person with physical custody of an elder.

Signs and symptoms of abandonment include but are not limited to:

•  the desertion of an elder at a hospital, a nursing facility, or other similar institution

•  the desertion of an elder at a shopping center or other public location; and

•  an elder's own report of being abandoned

Physical and Sexual Abuse 

Emotional or Psychological Abuse

Financial or Material Exploitation