Development of an Assessment Tool for Domestic Elder Abuse: Creation of Items from a Literature Review

Qinqiuzi Yi,Junko Honda,Naohiro Hohashi

doi:10.4236/aar.2015.46021

Abstract

Background: With the “super-aging” of society, the prevalence of elder abuse can be expected to come under greater scrutiny. It will be important, therefore, to evaluate the presence and severity of elder abuse so as to prevent abuse and provide greater support for families. Aim: The aim of this study is to identify acts of elder abuse from a literature review in order to develop items for an assessment tool for domestic elder abuse. Methods: For the literature search, ICHUSHI Web, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and PubMed were utilized with the keywords “elder abuse” and “elderly abuse”. A search limited to original articles over the last five years containing descriptions of elder abuse was used in this study. In addition, through hand search, books and websites concerning elder abuse were also studied. Descriptions of the acts of elder abuse from the materials were extracted and categorized by content analysis based on seven subtypes of elder abuse (physical abuse, neglect, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, economical abuse, self-neglect, and social abuse). Results & Conclusions: The final analysis included 18 original articles, two books, and eight websites on elder abuse prevention. A total of 38 acts were extracted as items for the assessment tool, which can be used to evaluate the presence and severity of elder abuse. Further research will be needed to examine the validity and reliability of the assessment tool.

Highlights

As the number of elderly persons grows because of the rise in the average lifespan, a variety of issues and challenges concerning elder care have been discussed in Japan
In addition to the subtypes of elder abuse defined by the Elder Abuse Prevention Law, self-neglect and social abuse were included as subtypes, in view of the protection of the human rights of elderly persons, because a variety of social relationships that the elderly person has cultivated in his/her life seriously affect his/her energy to live and sense of mental relief
Elder abuse in this study is defined as an act that falls under any of the following subtypes (1 - 7): 1) Physical Abuse Inflicting an assault upon an elderly person that will cause or is likely to cause external harm to his/her body

Summary

Introduction

As the number of elderly persons grows because of the rise in the average lifespan, a variety of issues and challenges concerning elder care have been discussed in Japan. In China, which is said to be “age before it gets rich”, the elder abuse issue is much less recognized as a social problem; and the actual prevalence of elder abuse may be much higher than the published data indicate because the medical, health, and welfare systems are still undeveloped. In both China and Japan, it is important to obtain a better grasp of the state of elder abuse and provide adequate support where warranted. Further research will be needed to examine the validity and reliability of the assessment tool

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion