What the Database Tells Us

Although the database wasn't set up as part of a media research process, it's impossible to read and summarize more than 200 articles without gathering some impressions. Here are some of ours.

• Elder abuse is not invisible to the public. Although the topic is not well covered (and we found no articles in the first five months of 2003 in 10 states), there are a surprising number of articles on abuse, with both domestic and institutional elder abuse getting coverage.
• Vulnerable adult abuse -- in institutions, by caregivers, and even by family members -- is likewise receiving a fair amount of attention.
• Self-neglect is, on the other hand, rarely talked about (despite the fact it makes up the majority of Adult Protective Services cases in states whose mandate includes it). When it is covered, there is frequently some recognition of adults' rights to self-determination to counteract observers' reported distress over the situation.
• As might be expected, the media is more likely to cover cases that involve a police action or the issuance of a government report. It's not uncommon for an institution, once it's been charged with abuse, to hit a reporter's radar screen again, and some papers do seem to take care to follow-up on domestic cases as they move through the criminal justice system.
• Although some articles do mention the services that can be provided to elder and vulnerable adult abuse victims, they very seldom give much detail about what such services do. Two partial exceptions are the April 15, 2003 "Adult Protective Services unit fights neglect, abuse, exploitation" run by the Okmulgee Daily Times (www.okmulgeetimes.com) and the April 27, 2003 article, "Social services sensitive to elder abuse," published by the Wausau [Wisconsin] Daily Herald (www.wausaudailyherald.com). Phone numbers of agencies victims can call are more likely to show up in articles on younger domestic violence victims than in articles on elder abuse.
• Sexual assault of male nursing home residents showed up a surprising number of times during the five months the initial database covers. Whether this trend continues and what it might mean -- do they merit more attention because they aren't what the public expects? Are these rapes more likely to be reported than are rapes of female residents? Have previously-reported studies of male sexual assault underestimated its prevalence? -- remains to be seen.
• Overall, reporters are not doing a bad job of presenting elder and vulnerable adult abuse issues. While the initial database was being prepared, the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) published a new document on its website that gives advice to journalists about misconceptions they should avoid when covering elder abuse (www.elderabusecenter.org/default.cfm?p=pitfalls.cfm). These myths are listed as:

• 1. Abuse of older adults generally occurs on dark streets by unknown perpetrators.
  2. Victims always despise the abuser and want to report the abusive situation.
  3. No one would ever abuse an older person.
  4. Elder abuse means the same thing all across the country and falls into one of three categories: Physical, Emotional, and Financial.
  5. Neglect occurs out of ignorance of what an older adult needs.
  6. The risk of being abused varies based upon a person's income level.
  7. Model prevention and intervention solutions for child abuse can be replicated for elder abuse.
  8. Older people lose the ability to make choices, such as financial decisions.
  9. Older adult and young adults respond similarly to abuse.
  10. Children who abuse elderly parents were likely to be abused themselves.
  11. Passing laws to protect older adults will solve the problem of elder abuse.

For the most part, there were few, if any, articles that seemed to reinforce any of these misconceptions. So there is good news. There just needs to be more of it.