How Many People are Suffering from Elder Abuse in the U.S.?
It is difficult to say how many older Americans are abused, neglected, or exploited, in large part because surveillance is limited and the problem remains greatly hidden and vastly under-reported. Approximately 1.6 million people live in some 17,000 licensed nursing homes on any given day throughout the United States, and over a million persons live in approximately 45,000 plus residential care facilities, variously known as personal care homes, adult congregate living facilities, domiciliary care homes, homes for the aged, and assisted living facilities. (See Elder Abuse in Residential Long-Term Care Facilities: What is known about Prevalence, Causes, and Prevention, June 18, 2002.) While a number of studies have estimated that between three and five (5%) percent of the elderly population in the U.S. have been abused, the Senate Special Committee on Aging estimated that there may be as many as 5 million victims of elder abuse and/or neglect every year.
