Elder Mistreatment and the Public's Health

Elder mistreatment stands as the last of the abuses to come to the attention of public health.  That it is a late arrival to public health is emblematic of the problem itself: it is a complex, wicked public health problem with issues running the gamut from micro to macro levels of society, all of which demand a committed, interdisciplinary approach engaging the brightest public health minds possible.  This paper argues that elder mistreatment is a public health problem by 1) stressing that primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of the problem is well within the scope of work performed by public health professionals; 2) addressing major public policy/public health initiatives as they relate to elder mistreatment (e.g., Healthy People 2020, White House Conference on Aging, Elder Justice Act, Affordable Care Act, ADA); and 3) framing elder mistreatment as a global and human rights issue. We embed our argument within the SocioEcological Framework and maintain that knowledge of elder mistreatment by public health professionals is essential for effective, well-informed efforts to identify, analyze, and address the facets that elder mistreatment involves. Finally, we provide examples of activities and structures that have, are, or will shape movement in the many sectors that intersect with public health to prevent elder mistreatment.