Abuse of the elderly-the hidden agenda. II. Future research and remediation

A schema for future research and efforts to remediate abuse of the elderly is presented. In the community at large, increased exposure of and education pertaining to the elderly are needed in order to intensify the public/community presence and reduce prejudices. In the medical community, improvements are needed in the extent of geriatric training, the ethics of pronouncement of death, the reliability of clinical documents, and the reporting of suspected cases of abuse. In the legal community, there is need for laws prohibiting abuse and neglect, and providing opportunity for recovery of minimum damages, with covering of attorney's fees and court costs. It is proposed that the administrative process be altered so as to provide either a financial penalty for abuse and neglect, or a reward for providing superior care.