Rationale
Population Demographics
By the year 2060, nearly one in four Americans will be 65+ years old and the number of 85+ year old's will triple (United States Census Bureau). With such a drastic increase in this age demographic, the U.S. healthcare system is likely to see a gross increase in elder abuse cases (Mather et al., 2019).
National Population Projections, 2017
www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj.html
National Population Projections, 2017
www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj.html
The Statistics
The World Health Organization (WHO) cites that globally, 1 in 6 older adults have experienced elder abuse within the past year (WHO, 2020)
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) cites that within the U.S., 1 in 10 older adults have experienced elder abuse (NCOA, 2020)
Despite the prevalence of elder abuse, the WHO estimates that 1 in 24 elder abuse cases are reported (WHO, 2020).
By the year 2060, the number of Americans over the age of 60 is expected to double from the year 2018 (Mather et al., 2019)
The Project
The purpose of this project was to design and publish an evidence-based CE course through the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) to teach occupational therapy practitioners how to identify, address, and report elder abuse.