“They Are Perfect Victims”—A Qualitative Study Examining Elder Care Professionals’ Perceptions of Elder Maltreatment

Abstract

Many older vulnerable adults live in care facilities or are in frequent contact with healthcare professionals, which in this article means professionals specializing in elder care such as nurses, social workers, and specialized elder care ombudspersons. Healthcare professionals are in a position of authority and can strongly influence the well-being of older vulnerable adults in their care. This article examines how such healthcare professionals perceive elder maltreatment and its contributing factors. A total of 25 elder healthcare professionals working in the United States were interviewed about what types of maltreatment they have observed working in healthcare facilities and the reasons to which they attribute this maltreatment. The findings in this study highlight two major themes in what healthcare professionals perceive impact the occurrence of elder maltreatment. The first theme reflects factors related to the individual care worker such as organizational and private stressors and healthcare professionals’ mental state, attitudes, and training. The other theme reveals that characteristics of the older vulnerable adults such as reduced capabilities and combativeness can, according to the healthcare professionals, contribute to maltreatment occurring. Implications of these findings and future research avenues are also discussed.