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(EMAILWIRE.COM, August 18, 2008 ) The IQ Nursing Homes website now features information about emotional nursing home abuse and how to detect this devastating form of elder abuse. Emotional nursing home abuse, also known as mental abuse, is a major cause for concern because it is difficult to detect and can leave residents mentally disturbed. Victims of emotional nursing home abuse may be reluctant to report the emotional abuse they are experiencing out of fear that the abuse will worsen.
Nursing home residents have a right to be treated with respect, dignity, and compassion. Unfortunately, these rights are violated when nursing home employees emotionally abuse residents. Emotional nursing home abuse can take the form of any act that results in suffering, anguish, emotional distress, or psychological disturbances in residents. When nursing home employees engage in verbally and emotionally abusive behavior, such as humiliation, harassment, threats, deprivation, intimidation, manipulation, and degradation, nursing home residents suffer greatly. Involuntary isolation and unwarranted restriction of activities also can also qualify as emotional abuse.
Although the signs of emotional nursing home abuse may be less obvious then those of physical abuse, there are still some symptoms that family members and friends of nursing home victims should be aware of. Victims of emotional nursing home abuse may show signs of depression, anxiety, disorientation, constant agitation, sudden dementia, and confusion. Bouts of insomnia, mood swings, and low self-esteem may also serve as indicators of emotional abuse. Unusual behaviors (such as rocking, sucking, or biting) or a sudden shift to a non-communicative, withdrawn demeanor are additional signs of emotional abuse in nursing home residents.
Emotional nursing home abuse may occur as a result of a number of factors. A nursing homeÂ’s failure to conduct thorough background investigations on staff members may allow an individual with a history of mental abuse to become an employee of the facility and victimize the residents. When nursing home staff members are improperly supervised or insufficiently trained, there is a higher potential for nursing home abuse to occur. If a nursing home is understaffed, the existing employees will be put under an increased amount of pressure and may take out their frustration and stress on the residents by emotionally abusing them.
Visit http://www.iqnursinghomes.com to learn more about signs of emotional nursing home abuse and the proper steps to take if nursing home abuse is suspected. View nursing home deficiency ratings to find the safest nursing home in your state.
IQ Nursing Homes offers a free nursing home abuse case evaluation form on their site, which will be reviewed by a qualified nursing home attorney within 36 hours. Nursing home employees who have witnessed abuse can report it anonymously. IQ Nursing Homes has partnered with nursing home abuse lawyers and nursing home negligence law firms throughout the country with the goal of putting a stop to the victimization of the elderly. By holding abusive staff members accountable for their actions and making it financially devastating for nursing homes to allow abuse to occur, the pattern of nursing home abuse can be put to an end.
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