People live their lives by taking care of themselves, and in the case of parents, taking care of their children. As they get older, people begin to have difficulties in caring for themselves and need to rely on others to help with common activities. Physical or mental barriers may make it difficult for the elderly to take care of themselves. However, when people have others caring for them, problems of elder abuse can occur.

So, what is elder abuse? As defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Elder abuse is an intentional act, or failure to act, by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult. (An older adult is defined as someone age 60 or older.)

As parents or grandparents get older, it is important for us to ensure that they avoid being a victim of elder abuse. To learn more about elder abuse, and how this can be prevented, we have put together the following information. Please feel free to review the information and hopefully it helps prevent a loved one become a victim.