# data[].attributes.body
I've always been close to my grandpa for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I watched him slowly age. He stopped coming downstairs as often, no longer made me breakfast, and our morning talks faded away. His body ached constantly, and the stairs became too much for him to handle. Then one night, he pushed himself to make it down the stairs one more time, but his knee gave out. He had an old military injury that affected his back, knees, and neck, and that night, it finally caught up to him. He fell. It was late, and I stood outside my room worriedly, as paramedics placed him on a stretcher and took him away. After a short hospital stay, he was transferred to a rehabilitation center for older adults, where he could begin the long process of learning to walk again. Those first weeks were hard. He missed home terribly and would call me crying. Worse, he was mistreated by a nurse who intentionally caused him pain. I was heartbroken and angry, but we didn’t have the means to care for him at home. That experience opened my eyes to the importance of compassionate care and first sparked my interest in occupational therapy. Over time, things began to change. My grandpa made friends, adjusted to his new environment, and slowly started walking longer distances. He lost over 80 pounds, regained his strength, and eventually moved in with my uncle. Now, he’s walking and working on publishing his own book about his experiences when he was a child. My grandpa has always been my role model. Watching his journey, the struggles and the strength, has been both inspiring and life-changing. I’m proud of him, and he continues to be one of my greatest inspirations.

# data[].attributes.body
My grandpa used to tell me stories about his dad and what he went through after fighting in the Korean War. He said the war never really ended for him; it just followed him home. Some nights, my grandpa would wake up to his father screaming in his sleep, trapped in nightmares about the things he’d seen and done. The sound of it stayed with him.

During the day, it wasn’t much better. There were times his dad would have these episodes like something would take over and his mother would have to calm him down, hold him, remind him he was safe. My grandpa remembered seeing his dad curled up in his mother's arms, crying and begging God to forgive him for the things he’d had to do in combat.

He talked about how his dad would describe how it was during battle; walls of men coming at him, and how he’d shoot them all down just to stay alive. And when there were too many, he’d hide under the bodies, pretending to be dead, hoping he wouldn’t be found. What really stuck with my grandpa was how hard it was to see his father, this strong, brave man, slowly become a shadow of who he used to be.

# data[].attributes.body
Back in the 1930s, as things started getting worse in Germany, my great-grandmother and her family began to fear for their lives. The rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime brought with it a terrifying wave of antisemitism, violence, and discrimination that affected daily life in Germany. Knowing they could no longer stay in a place that was their home they made the incredibly difficult decision to leave everything behind. They wanted to get away from the murder and horrible discrimination they faced everywhere. It was hard leaving Germany but thankfully they succeeded. They travelled to the United States in hopes of safety and sanctuary. My Great-grandmother arrived in Fresno and had her daughter (my grandmother) years later, which now established my mother's side residing in Fresno.

# data[].attributes.body
The transition from sixth grade to fully online school for the remainder of sixth grade and all of seventh grade was incredibly challenging. I remember being so excited for sixth grade camp, it was just a week away, and I had heard so many great things about it from my older siblings. But out of nowhere, we got a notice that school would be closed for two weeks due to a spreading illness. We were told the camp would be rescheduled when we returned.  Everyone was excited to hear that we would be off school for two weeks until the realization of the severity of this sickness. We never returned to school. By then COVID-19 was in full bloom. Suddenly, masks became the norm, school was entirely online, and I found myself constantly washing my hands after touching anything. My family stocked up on supplies; hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, soap, everything. People around us were getting sick, and it was terrifying. The scariest moment was when my brother got COVID, and one by one, the rest of us caught it too. My dad and twin sister even developed pneumonia. Being stuck inside every day made me more reserved and withdrawn. I lost touch with old friends and kept to myself throughout all of seventh grade. When eighth grade came and we were told we'd be returning to in-person school, I was filled with anxiety. I didn’t know anyone anymore, and it felt like everyone else already had their friend groups. Slowly throughout the year I began making friends, but it wasn't until sophomore where I began putting myself out there and breaking out of this box, I put myself in.

# data[].attributes.body
A picture of me and my grandpa as he was in the Rehabilitation Center/ Nursing Home

# data[].attributes.body
Picture of my Great Grandmother with her mother a little before they left Germany or after

# data[].attributes.body
A picture of my Great Grandfather with his mother.

# data[].attributes.body
The article from The National WWII Museum talks about how the Nazis carried out the mass murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. It also explains that other groups, like Roma people, Poles, and those with disabilities, were targeted too. The piece stresses why it’s so important to remember these events and the people who were affected.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Holocaust | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Holocaust was Nazi Germany’s deliberate, organized, state-sponsored persecution and machinelike murder of approximately six million European Jews and at least five million Soviet prisoners of war, Romany, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and other victims.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Original Passage from: Szmul Zygielbojm

# data[].attributes.body
I was in Poland

With my own eyes

Cruelty

I see in my mind

suffering faces

torture and murder

They do not harbor hatred,

they are simply

doing their jobs

in cold blood.

Extermination

Systemically Starving

to death

One conclusion

The Germans are trying

to exterminate

the whole.

# data[].attributes.headline
70 Years After Korea: Tales of the Forgotten War

# data[].attributes.subject
70 Years After Korea: Tales of the Forgotten War

# data[].attributes.body
This article shares personal stories from American veterans who served in the Korean War. Often overshadowed by World War II and Vietnam, the Korean War is sometimes called “The Forgotten War,” but for those who fought, it was anything but forgettable. The article highlights the extreme conditions these soldiers faced like freezing cold weather and rough terrain and the emotional weight of combat. By telling these veterans’ stories, the piece aims to honor their sacrifices and make sure their experiences aren’t forgotten.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
A.J. Baime, AARP Comments Published November 03, 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
70 Years After Korea: Tales of the Forgotten War

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Those whose lives were marked by the conflict carry its memory

# data[].attributes.body
mile by mile and

day by day

abandoned, lost

washed with

humanity flowing south away

The impulse to escape

the terrible cold,

the mountains

overwhelming

most of the Eighth Army fell apart

collapse

reduced to hysterical laughter

rumor of every kind

held sway over

we knew of the Chinese

different

submissive

but they themselves

ran by units

six feet and over

wreaking havoc

fighting a large-scale

guerilla war

a triumph not merely

of communism

# data[].attributes.headline
Impact of COVID-19 on adolescent health and use of social media

# data[].attributes.subject
Impact of COVID-19 on adolescent health and use of social media

# data[].attributes.body
This article shows the effects that COVID-19 had on children. It explains how isolation caused the decline of mental health to many adolescents during these tough times.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Impact of COVID-19 on adolescent health and use of social media

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic changed access to healthcare and decreased mental and physical wellbeing. It also significantly altered teens’ relationship with social media. This article is a current review of the literature on the…

# data[].attributes.headline
Teens in America: How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Shaping the Next Generation

# data[].attributes.subject
Teens in America: How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Shaping the Next Generation

# data[].attributes.body
The article explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected teenagers in America, especially their mental health. With school closures, social isolation, and more time online, many teens have experienced increased anxiety, depression, and other emotional struggles. It emphasizes how important it is for parents, educators, and mental health professionals to support teens as they try to cope and heal from everything they've been through.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teens in America: How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Shaping the Next Generation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The pandemic has exposed many teens to trauma and tested their fragile resilience. What can you, as a clinician, do to help?

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
"Lockdown March 2020" by Sarala Estruch 

# data[].attributes.body
Suddenly we are all aliens,
in this new enforced silence,
crossing the road
when we spot a person
indiscriminately.

We’ve woken up foreigners
on a planet we believed
belonged to us,
but today has been declared
off limits.

We scold our children
for running up to the postman,
reminding them, Two metres! Two metres!
Trying to keep
the smile on our faces.

We envy our children,
so quick to adjust
to playdates on Zoom,
oblivious (of course)
to the real situation.

From our windows,
we observe the carrion crow
as it sits on a branch
bejewelled with buds,
this new life we cannot touch.

# data[].attributes.body
About 1 in 6 people aged 60 and older experience abuse, with rates even higher in institutions like nursing homes. Elder abuse includes physical, emotional, financial, and neglectful harm, often leading to serious consequences. Cases have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and are expected to rise with global aging.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The abuse of older people, also known as elder abuse, is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. This type of violence constitutes a violation of human rights and includes physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse; financial and material abuse; abandonment; neglect; and serious loss of dignity and respect.

Scope of the problem

Abuse of older people is an important public health problem. A 2017 review of 52 studies in 28 countries from diverse regions estimated that over the past year 1 in 6 people (15.7%) aged 60 years and older were subjected to some form of abuse (1). Although rigorous data are limited, the review provides prevalence estimates of the proportion of older people affected by different types of abuse (see Table 1).

Data on the extent of the problem in institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are scarce. However, a review of recent studies on abuse of older people in institutional settings(2) indicates that 64.2% of staff reported perpetrating some form of abuse in the past year.

Table 1: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Emerging evidence indicates that the prevalence of abuse of older people in both the community and in institutions have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. A US study, for instance, suggests that rates in the community may have increased by as much as 84% (3).

Globally, the number of cases of elder abuse is projected to increase as many countries have rapidly ageing populations. Even if the proportion of victims of abuse of older people remains constant, the global number of victims will increase rapidly due to population ageing, growing to some 320 million victims by 2050, as the global population of people aged 60 years and more increases to 2 billion by 2050.

Consequences

Abuse of older people can have serious physical and mental health, financial, and social consequences, including, for instance, physical injuries, premature mortality, depression, cognitive decline, financial devastation and placement in nursing homes. For older people, the consequences of abuse can be especially serious and recovery may take longer (4).

Risk factors

Individual level characteristics which increase the risk of becoming a victim of abuse include functional dependence/disability, poor physical health, cognitive impairment, poor mental health and low income. Individual level characteristics which increase the risk of becoming a perpetrator of abuse include mental illness, substance abuse and dependency - often financial - of the abuser on the victim. At the relationship level, the type of relationship (e.g., spouse/partner or child/parent) and marital status may be associated with an elevated risk of abuse, but these factors vary by country and region. Community- and societal-level factors linked to elder abuse may include ageism against older people and certain cultural norms (e.g., normalization of violence). Social support and living alone reduce the likelihood of elder abuse (5).

Prevention

Many strategies have been tried to prevent and respond to abuse of older people, but evidence for the effectiveness of most of these interventions is limited at present. Strategies considered most promising include caregiver interventions, which provide services to relieve the burden of caregiving; money management programmes for older adults vulnerable to financial exploitation; helplines and emergency shelters; and multi-disciplinary teams, as the responses required often cut across many systems, including criminal justice, health care, mental health care, adults protective services and long-term care ( 5).

In some countries, the health sector has taken a leading role in raising public concern about abuse of older people, while in others the social welfare sector has taken the lead. Globally, too little is known about elder abuse and how to prevent it, particularly in developing countries.

WHO response

On 15 June 2022, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, WHO and partners published " Tackling abuse of older people: five priorities for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030)". These five priorities, arrived at through wide consultation, are:

Combat ageism as it is a major reason why the abuse of older people receives so little attention.

Generate more and better data to raise awareness of the problem.

Develop and scale up cost-effective solutions to stop abuse of older people.

Make an investment case focusing on how addressing the problem is money well spent.

Raise funds as more resources are needed to tackle the problem.

(2) The prevalence of elder abuse in institutional settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Yon Y, Ramiro-Gonzalez M, Mikton C, Huber M, Sethi D. European Journal of Public Health 2018.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29878101

(3) High prevalence of elder abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic: risk and resilience factors. Chang ES, Levy BR. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33518464/

(4) The mortality of elder mistreatment.
Lachs MS, Williams CS, O'Brien S, Pillemer KA, Charlson ME. JAMA. 1998 Aug 5;280(5):428-32.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9701077

(5) Elder Abuse: Global Situation, Risk Factors, and Prevention Strategies. Pillmer K, Burnes D, Riffin C, Lachs M. The Gerontologist. 2016; 56(2); 194-205. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26994260/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WHO fact sheet on abuse of older people with key facts and information on the scope of the problem, risk factors, prevention and WHO response.

# data[].attributes.body
Occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare practice that assists individuals in improving their ability to perform daily tasks, particularly when these activities are hindered by injury, illness, or disability. The therapy process typically involves assessment, intervention, and evaluation phases, aiming to improve the patient's quality of life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Is the Main Role of Occupational Therapy?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Occupational therapy can be an important part of your treatment plan. Learn how OT can help you meet your goals and overcome challenges.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
"Every Fiber of Being" by Rhiannon Crispe

# data[].attributes.body
Take me

to the therapist

who yearns for more

though bound

by broken systems

The one who moves

with moral compass,

despite

suffocating constraints,

insurance schemes,

profit-driven models.

The one who returns

to the spirit

of occupational therapy

true,

whole,

in a fractured world.