Factors Affecting Mistreatment of the Elderly in Long-Term Care Facilities.

Jeongmi Lim

doi:10.3390/healthcare8030224

Abstract

In long-term care facilities, elderly mistreatment occurs routinely and frequently. However, few studies have empirically explored the multifaceted risk factor of mistreatment. The purpose of this paper was to explore the factors affecting elderly mistreatment by care workers in Japanese long-term care facilities and to examine the relationship between these factors and mistreatment. This analysis was based on a sample of 1473 care workers from long-term care facilities and used multiple regression analyses. The results revealed that the nursing care level, work period, resilience, and attitude towards mistreatment among residents and staff were factors significantly associated with the degree of mistreatment. Facility size, an institutional environment that does not limit the behavior of residents, and family and community support for the elderly were among the institutional environment factors that had significant relationships with mistreatment. Staff gender, care-related qualifications, and workload were not associated with mistreatment. These findings suggest that strengthening the staff’s attitude and coping skills to prevent mistreatment, as well as interventions for changes in the institutional environment, are needed to prevent and reduce the prevalence of mistreatment in Japan. In addition, raising staff resilience to stress situations and building a resident-centered facility care environment is an important measure to reduce mistreatment.

Highlights

Abuse and mistreatment are a commonly recognized human rights violation and a serious social problem in Japan
The results showed that the nursing care level (β = 0.060, p < 0.05), work period in long-term care (β = −0.052, p < 0.05), resilience (β = −0.277, p < 0.001), attitudes towards mistreatment (β = −0.218, p < 0.001), size of facility (β = −0.056, p < 0.05), autonomy at work (β = −0.120, p < 0.001), institutional care environment that does not limit the behavior of residents (β = −0.182, p < 0.001), and the family and community support for residents (β = −0.179, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with mistreatment
An institutional care environment that does not limit the behavior of residents, and family and community support for residents statistically lessened the severity of mistreatment among older adults

Summary

Introduction

Abuse and mistreatment are a commonly recognized human rights violation and a serious social problem in Japan. A record-high 621 cases of abuse in long-term care facilities for the elderly were reported in 2018 according to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare [4]. As only 28.4% of the reported and received cases were judged to be abuse [4], approximately 70% of cases involving inappropriate and abusive behaviors were omitted from the abuse prevention and intervention policy. This phenomenon is similar in Korea [6]. Mistreatment and improper care is a serious issue, both in Japan and abroad

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Conclusion