Residents of Lousiville and the surrounding area seek the best possible nursing homes for elderly family members when their care requirements exceed the family’s abilities. Kentucky nursing homes have a legal obligation to provide residents with skilled compassionate care and respect for the human dignity of the aging generation.
Despite the best hopes and expectations of family members, they still carefully watch for signs of physical abuse and neglect when visiting their elderly loved ones, but what about a type of abuse that doesn’t leave visible injuries but still causes a decline in life quality? Emotional and psychological abuse in nursing homes happens more often than you’d think, and the consequences can lead to diminished quality of life and wrongful death in nursing homes.
What Is Emotional and Psychological Abuse in Nursing Homes?
Emotional abuse does not involve overt physical violence or neglect but instead may be a collection of manipulative behaviors designed to control or belittle others. In nursing home abuse cases, examples of emotional abuse include the following:
- Yelling or shouting at a resident
- Name-calling
- Mocking
- Verbal insults
- Intimidation
- Threats of violence or negative consequences
- Belittling or making degrading comments
- Using humiliating language
- Delaying the delivery of food, water, or bathroom assistance
- Making false accusations of bad behavior
- Ridiculing a resident’s disabilities or difficulties
- Speaking badly about the patient to other caregivers or residents in a loud voice intended for the resident to hear
- Ignoring requests for help
In some cases, residents commit psychological abuse against a resident by intentionally hiding their personal items or moving them out of reach, playing mind games like saying they already told a resident something when they didn’t, isolating them from others, or wrongfully using restraints.
How Common Is Emotional Abuse in Louisville Nursing Homes?
No one should have their physical and psychological well-being undermined by caregivers tasked with providing competent care, compassion, and the protection of an elderly resident’s human dignity, yet an astonishing 81% of nursing home staff surveyed report that they’ve witnessed emotional abuse against residents. A further 40% admitted to their own behaviors that constitute emotional or psychological abuse against the elderly. In some cases, the emotional abuse comes from another resident, in which case the staff has a duty to intervene.
Women are more likely to become victims of psychological and emotional abuse in nursing homes than men.
What Are the Signs of Emotional Abuse In a Nursing Home?
Nursing home residents who are the victims of emotional abuse do not always report their situation. They may be cognitively or physically unable to speak of the abuse, fear retaliation from caregivers, or don’t wish to burden their family members. Some residents may not recognize the behaviors as abusive, especially if they’ve suffered emotional abuse in relationships in the past.
Signs of emotional and psychological abuse in an elderly nursing home resident include:
- Withdrawal from others
- Decreased interest in social activities
- Depression
- Weight loss/loss of appetite
- Signs of anxiety or nervousness
- Reluctance to talk in front of staff members
- Self-harming behaviors
- Talk of death or suicide
- Sudden or growing gradual disinterest in personal hygiene or appearance
- Anxious behaviors such as nail-biting, rocking back and forth, thumb-sucking, picking at sores or scabs, or hair twisting/pulling
When an elderly loved one exhibits any of the above signs of emotional abuse, first, ensure privacy from staff members and then speak to them about their emotional condition. Be forthright in your questions, and ask them about the behaviors of their caregivers toward them.
How Can a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney in Louisville Help?
Emotional and psychological abuse in nursing homes is a violation of a resident’s right to compassionate, respectful care. Elderly nursing home residents are in a fragile state of life and may experience physical and cognitive decline as a result of emotional abuse. If this has happened to your elderly loved one, call the Louisville nursing home abuse lawyers at Gray & White Law today so we can take prompt action on your loved one’s behalf through a personal injury claim against the negligent nursing home.