Symposium: Elder Mistreatment and the Public's Health

Elder mistreatment stands as the last of the abuses to come to public attention.  That it is late arriving in the public conscience is emblematic of the problem itself—it is a complex, wicked 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.  The Symposium, Elder Mistreatment and the Public’s Health 1) frames elder mistreatment as a public health problem stressing that primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of the problem is well within the scope of work performed by public health professionals; 2) address major public policy/public health initiatives as they relate to elder mistreatment (e.g., Healthy People 2020, 2015 White House Conference on Aging, Elder Justice Act, Affordable Care Act, ADA); 3) frames elder mistreatment as a global and human rights issue.