Search

Using assessment and investigation data from the reported APS cases in Texas, this study examines the types of elder self-neglect and neglect, including medical neglect. It then examines the association between self-neglect and neglect and individual economic resources as well as health care and social service programs for the poor. The findings show that elder self-neglect/neglect is, in large part, attributable to frail older adults' and their families' lack of resources to pay for essential goods and services and the inadequate healthcare and other formal support programs for the older adults and their caregivers. This inadequate public policy coverage, rather than individual and intrafamily risk factors per se, needs to be considered as a significant cause of elder self-neglect/neglect. KEYWORDS Adult Protective Services, self-neglect/neglect, elder abuse, elder maltreatment, cognitive impairment, chronic health problems, low income, Medicaid

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.12.006 Byline: Cathy Spatz Widom (a), Sally J. Czaja (a), Mary Ann Dutton (b) Keywords: Childhood victimization; Lifetime revictimization; Physical abuse; Sexual abuse; Neglect; Lifetime trauma and victimization history Abstract: To examine the fundamental hypothesis that childhood victimization leads to increased vulnerability for subsequent (re)victimization in adolescence and adulthood and, if so, whether there are differences in rates of experiencing traumas and victimizations by gender, race/ethnicity, and type of childhood abuse and/or neglect. Author Affiliation: (a) Psychology Department, John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY), 899 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY 10019, USA (b) Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA Article History: Received 3 August 2006; Revised 29 November 2007; Accepted 10 December 2007 Article Note: (footnote) [star] This research was supported in part by grants from NIMH (MH49467 and MH58386), NIJ (86-IJ-CX-0033 and 89-IJ-CX-0007), NICHD (HD40774), NIDA (DA17842 and DA10060), and NIAAA (AA09238 and AA11108). Points of view are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the United States Department of Justice.

SUMMARY This article outlines the importance of surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), and argues for extension of mandatory surveillance. Key words Protection * Data monitoring * Analysis * SENIC project [...]

Neglect is an acquired cognitive disorder characterized by a lack of processing of one side of a stimulus or representational space. There are hemispheric asymmetries in its cause and in its effects, but implemented computational models of neglect have tended not to incorporate this fact. The authors report a series of neural network simulations of the line-bisection task. They test the hypothesis that simple, neuroanatomically realistic principles of connectivity in the nervous system can produce emergent behaviors that capture a wide range of quantitative and qualitative data observed in neglect patients presenting with general visuospatial neglect. They demonstrate that exploring low-level architectural principles in implemented computational models is both a productive avenue of research and offers the most parsimonious explanations of behaviors observed in patients.

This study investigated the perception of elder neglect by undergraduate mock jurors. Ninety-eight men and women read fictional criminal trial summaries of a neglect case (i.e., First-Degree Criminal Abuse) in which the age of the alleged victim was 76- or 86-years-old and the alleged victim had either a cognitive deficit or a physical disability. The results showed that the alleged victim's health status affected perceptions of mock jurors. There were more guilty verdicts and higher ratings of the defendant's guilt when the alleged victim had a cognitive deficit than when she did not. These results ale discussed in terms of the implications of bringing cases of elder abuse to court. KEYWORDS. Elder abuse, neglect, juror perceptions

Looking at families where children have been abused/neglected in early childhood, this study examined measures of child behavior and health to see if they tended to be worse when domestic violence is or has been present in a family. Further, caregiver and family characteristics as well as other case factors were examined, as possible moderators or mediators of the effects of domestic violence. Results indicate that domestic violence, of the type and severity occurring in our sample, does not have a direct effect on child outcomes by Age 6, when other associated variables are taken into account, but has considerable indirect effects. There is a pronounced impact of domestic violence on family functioning, the caregiver's general health and well being, and the quality of the caregiver's interaction with the child, which in turn are significantly associated with decrements of child functioning related to behavior problems and health. Some implications of this study for research in the area of domestic violence and child maltreatment are discussed. KEY WORDS: domestic violence; maltreatment; child abuse; neglect; child outcomes.

Many recent press releases cite a 1990 Harvard Medical Practice Study to support claims that physicians are responsible for the deaths of at least 80,000 patients a year through negligence. However, analysis of the study shows that some of the calculations, such as the extrapolation of 80,000 deaths, are not scientifically valid. Moreover, most of the alleged cases of negligence were due to inadvertent mistakes that all humans are prone to., That's how some people interpret a "new" malpractice study. But when we checked the facts behind the headlines, we found a different story. Over 80,000 people die and as many [...]

Variables that affect the propensity to report medical neglect were surveyed among 52 physicians on the staff of a pediatric hospital. Death was one of the 52 potential consequences of neglect listed for 7 of the 46 diseases analyzed. The time allotted before neglect would be considered varied with the stage and seriousness of the disease. Caretakers were less likely to be considered neglectful if the symptoms of the disease were minor, not obvious, or required technical sophistication for recognition. The number of acceptable reasons for missing appointments varied. The natural course of the disease process, efficacy and safety of treatment, parents' religion, intellectual level, and economic situation affected neglect reporting propensity. Definitions of medical neglect for common diseases must be standardized. Training of lay caretakers of ill children and communication of clear and reasonable expectations are necessary to help prevent medical neglect.

Researchers and practitioners in the field of child maltreatment often consider child abuse and neglect as a single or repeated series of isolated events. However, such an approach fails to [...]

Studies have shown that people subjected to ostracism, the act of being excluded and ignored; report worsened mood, anger, and lower levels of four state measures of needs. Results from experiments suggest that individuals can react to computers in a similar fashion to how they react to humans.

At the end of a trial, the judge gives jurors a set of instructions that explain the laws that are applicable to the case and that direct jurors to reach a verdict in accordance with those laws. Little is known about how well jurors understand instructions in civil cases. We assess the extent to which jurors understand judicial instructions in negligence cases. We address 3 issues: (a) To what extent do they understand these instructions? (b) To what extent is their comprehension enhanced by access to a written copy of the instructions? and (c) What effect does deliberation have on jurors' comprehension levels? Overall comprehension was approximately 64% and access to written instructions did not enhance comprehension, but the opportunity to deliberate did.