'Elder Abuse': The Case for Greater Involvement of Geriatricians

摘要

It is ironic that the phenomenon of 'elder abuse' in the United Kingdom has only recently begun to achieve widespread credibility. The first English language report of 'granny battering' was British but it has been in the United States that much of the formative work has been carried out. There is a familiar ring to the emergence in the US of a problem requiring a multidisciplinary approach to which the clinician has a central role. Following an initial period of interest however, clinicians in the UK have been conspicuous by their absence from the central debate, despite their potential role in the detection, management and possible prevention of abuse of older people. The reasons for this are not readily apparent but may include a degree of clinical and academic discomfort surrounding the topic. Debate rages as to the most appropriate definition of the term elder abuse and the complex nature of the problem may prohibit a single unifying clinical definition. Research is still in its infancy and there are few accurate data quantifying the extent of the problem. Meanwhile intervention strategies are fragmentary and uncoordinated. Nevertheless there can be no room for complacency.