The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) hosted a tabling event at Hahn Plaza on Tuesday, in preparation for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15.
The NCEA, a resource center managed by the Keck School of Medicine of USC, distributed handouts on elder abuse prevention and the harmful impacts of ageism on older communities at the event.
The table had a Finish the Sentence campaign, where students could respond to the sentence, “Everyone at every age can stand up to elder abuse by…”
Kimmy Moon, the deputy director of the NCEA, said the table had received over 40 responses. Students wrote responses such as: “loving others,” “being patient with them” and “fostering social connection with elders in our community.”
Moon said that elder abuse is an underrecognized and undetected issue. According to the NCEA, one in 10 community-dwelling older adults experiences abuse every year, and only one in 24 cases of elder abuse is reported.
“We live in a very age-segregated society right now, so it’s hard to see and connect with older adults,” said Moon.
Athena Heitsuka, a sophomore majoring in economics, said they weren’t aware of elder abuse until they visited the table.
“I guess that’s how unreported it is,” they said.
Some signs of elder mistreatment include increased anxiety, isolation, unexplained injuries and unusual changes in spending patterns.
According to the NCEA handouts, students can prevent elder abuse by educating others about the signs of abuse and regularly engaging with older adults in their communities.
The NCEA defines ageism as discrimination towards others or ourselves based on age. Ageism most prominently impacts older adults and contributes to elder mistreatment. It is associated with lower quality of life, social isolation and premature death.
According to the World Health Organization, one in two people is ageist against older people.
“Ageism and ageist rhetoric are associated with an increased risk of exposure to elder abuse. You need to value older adults. When we demean them or disregard them, we are creating an environment in which abuse is more likely to occur,” said NCEA Director Lori Mars.
Mars shared that public discourse in the media can negatively impact older adults. She referenced when COVID-19 was referred to as “Boomer remover” in online communities. The term made light of how vulnerable older populations were to COVID.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID death rates were highest in those aged 85 and older from 2020 to 2021.
Students can fight against ageism by working to reduce elder loneliness.
Jadyn Balsz, a fourth-year business analytics major, said she learned a bit about elder abuse in a gerontology class this semester. From the tabling event, she learned that self-neglect is the most common form of abuse against elders.
Rolen Dejesus is a music performance major with an emphasis on tuba performance. Dejesus said he plans to take on a caretaker role over the summer. He also shared that his parents were caretakers, so he’s had some experience caring for elderly people.
“I wasn’t aware of it,” he said about elder abuse. “Now I’m somewhat informed and I really want to do more research into it.”
Dejesus noted the importance of awareness among young people. Mars agreed.
“A number of students haven’t heard about elder abuse, so we’ve been explaining elder abuse to them and how they can better support older adults or intervene,” said Mars. ”They’ve heard about child abuse or domestic violence, but not so much elder abuse, which is not unusual because elder abuse is more often hidden.”.
Mars said her grandfather died as a result of elder abuse in a nursing home when she was a teenager. Elder justice has been a part of her life ever since.
Mars said college students have a great role to play in preventing elder abuse and identifying when they see it.
NCEA is hosting a Health and Action for World Elder Awareness Day Movement Challenge from May 1 to June 15. An app called YuMuuv allows users to join physical activities like dancing, pilates and yoga to build up activity minutes for awareness.