Abuse, mistreatment, and neglect

Abuse and mistreatment mean treating somebody else with cruelty or violence on purpose and often repeatedly. Abuse is a violation of the criminal law; therefore, it’s punishable.

Now, abuse can involve actively doing something bad to harm another person, but it can also involve failing to do something good, like giving proper care to someone that needs you to meet their basic needs, such as nourishment, hydration, or toileting needs, and this is also known as neglect.

A type of neglect is abandonment, which means withdrawing help or care from someone who needs it. As a nursing assistant, leaving your facility before the end of your shift without permission or sleeping at work instead of providing care are examples of abandonment.

It can seem hard to imagine that healthcare workers who choose to come to work each day and care for others are at risk for abusing their own clients.

However, although there is no excuse for any type of abuse, mistreatment, or neglect, situations where a client requires a great deal of care can lead to exhaustion, frustration, and potential abuse.

As a nursing assistant, if you ever find yourself overwhelmed with your care responsibilities, remember to reach out to your supervisor to find the support you need to continue providing safe, quality care to your clients.The main types of abuse include physical, psychological, sexual, and financial abuse.

Physical abuse involves using force to cause physical harm or pain to someone else’s body. This includes hitting, slapping, pushing, pinching, or even shaking a client.

Signs of physical abuse include bruising; red marks on the skin; fractures; or even broken objects, like eyeglasses. On the other hand, psychological abuse, also called emotional abuse, involves using words or actions that cause emotional harm or fear, such as treating clients without respect, insulting or humiliating them, or threatening them with physical harm or abandonment.

Signs of psychological abuse include changes in a client’s behavior, such as anxiety, depression, or even apathy. Sexual abuse can be physical or psychological and involves forcing someone to unwanted sexual contact, making inappropriate comments, touching a client inappropriately, harassing them, or taking nude photos or videos of the person.

Signs of sexual abuse include bruising or skin marks on intimate body areas, like breasts or genitals, and unexplained bleeding from the vagina or anus.

Finally, financial abuse involves stealing, misusing, or exploiting another person’s resources, like money or personal possessions.

This includes stealing or taking something without your client’s permission, forging their signature on any documents or checks, and tricking or blackmailing clients.

Keep in mind that, even if a client willingly offers you money or gifts, you shouldn’t accept them as it can be considered financial abuse.

Make sure that you are familiar with your facility’s policies regarding this matter.Now, in some challenging care situations, involuntary seclusion or restraints are sometimes needed temporarily as a last resort to keep a client as well as people around them safe.

By law, everyone has the right of freedom from involuntary seclusion and restraints that are not medically necessary as they can be considered forms of abuse.Involuntary seclusion means keeping a client isolated in a specific area or room and restricting their ability to move about freely.

Sometimes, separating a client from other clients is part of the plan of care. However, if a client is prevented from leaving their room or is left alone without a way to communicate with others for assistance, these are examples of seclusion and are a type of abuse.On the other hand, restraints involve taking additional measures to restrict a client’s freedom of movement or to prevent them from accessing certain parts of their body.

There are two types of restraint: physical and chemical. Physical restraints are devices attached to or near a client’s body that cannot be easily removed, while chemical restraints are medications, like sedatives and tranquilizers, that are not a part of the standard treatment for a medical or psychological condition.

Okay, so anyone can be a victim of abuse, but a vulnerable client is someone who has a condition, such as disability, brain damage, or frailty related to older age.

Vulnerable clients are more dependent on care from others, and therefore, are more susceptible to harm from abuse, mistreatment, and neglect from others.

Other times, a client may be at risk for self-neglect, which can happen in clients with dementia, depression, or other mental health disorders.

As we said, older age makes people more vulnerable and dependent on care, so abusing an older person is called elder abuse.

Common signs of elder abuse, mistreatment, or neglect include poor personal hygiene or oral care; weight loss due to poor nutrition; inadequate intake of medications; frequent injuries or signs, like bruising, pressure ulcers, depression, or anxiety; unexplained loss of money or personal possessions; and sudden changes in the client's bank account.

As a nursing assistant, make sure you keep an eye out for these signs. All states and U.S.

territories have laws identifying individuals, such as healthcare workers, including nursing assistants, who are designated as mandated reporters.

Being a mandated reporter means that whenever you suspect abuse may be occurring, you must immediately report it. Failure to report suspected abuse is often considered a crime, too, so be sure to know your own facility's policy on reporting suspected abuse.

The facility must take immediate action to protect the victim from further abuse as well as attend to the victim’s medical needs and contact any required services.

Being found guilty of abuse or neglect can result in being convicted of a crime, loss of certification or registration, and job loss.

Also, the information is entered into the nursing assistant registry. Under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or OBRA, facilities are not allowed to employ any person with a conviction of abuse or neglect on their record.Alright, as a quick recap… Abuse is a violation of the criminal law that involves treating somebody else with cruelty or violence.

Neglect means failing to do good, like giving proper care. Now, physical abuse involves using force to cause harm, while psychological abuse involves using words or actions.

Sexual abuse involves forcing someone to unwanted sexual contact, either physically or psychologically. Finally, financial abuse involves stealing or misusing another person’s resources.

Now, involuntary seclusion means keeping a client isolated in a specific area, while restraints involve taking physical or chemical measures to restrict a client’s freedom of movement.

Vulnerable clients, like the elderly, are those who have a condition or disability that makes them more susceptible to abuse.

As a nursing assistant, you should immediately report to your supervisor if you suspect a client is being abused. The facility must take immediate action to protect the victim