Vanaf 25 mei 2018 is de Algemene verordening gegevensbescherming (AVG) van toepassing. De AVG brengt ook voor organisaties in de zorgsector nieuwe verplichtingen met zich mee. In dit artikel worden de belangrijkste wijzigingen die de verordening meebrengt ten opzichte van de Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens (Wbp) besproken, voor zover die van belang zijn voor organisaties in de zorgsector. De auteurs gaan in op de nieuwe rechten van betrokkenen, de verplichtingen van verwerkingsverantwoordelijken en bewerkers en sancties en rechtsbescherming. Verder wordt de verhouding tussen de AVG en de bestaande sectorale wetgeving binnen de zorg besproken.

Caring for someone can be very strainful. In this article the author states that stress reactions are not necessarily due to the burden of the emotional or practical care load itself. More important factors are the individual capability to regulate emotions and the way in which careseeker and caregiver interact on emotional topics such as pain, panic, sorrow, depression, and anger. The author starts from the attachment theory and describes the importance of attachment for someone who feels threatened, sick or fearful. Deep stress may hinder the caregiver to be aware of the thoughts, emotions and acts of the other person. Several effective and non-effective interaction patterns are described. The author argues that without self regulation the risk of care derailing and mistreatment will be substantial while the need for external regulation grows.

Older people can become victims of abuse by someone they know and whom they depend on, such as family, friends or professional caregivers. Elder abuse is not always intentional, sometimes it is due to care falling short. Conducting a study to explore the prevalence of elder abuse is difficult. Commissioned by the Dutch State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport, the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) has brought together the current knowledge on this topic using the most recent data drawn from qualitative research, surveys of older persons, professionals and volunteers, and record data. The sources together do not produce an unambiguous picture of the actual number of victims in the Netherlands. All sources produce far lower figures than the estimated 200,000 based on a study of twenty years ago. The numbers found depend strongly on the research method and definition of the phenomenon.

Two approaches have dominated the way elder abuse is explained and defined: the intrapersonal and interpersonal approaches. More recently, an environmental approach is emerging that takes into account contextual factors. This approach also meets the perspectives of older individuals themselves better. They describe how they feel abused or neglected by the system – by the way in which we organize our institutions. Institutions mirror our society and are shaped in interaction with societal norms and expectations. This influences the way in which older individuals are looked upon, are being approached, and how they see themselves within these institutions. This system abuse is currently beyond the scope of the most commonly used definitions and approaches of elder abuse. However, it is important to acknowledge system abuse, because it makes explicit how older individuals feel abused by and within our institutions. The distress and harm that they experience can therewith be acknowledged and prevented.