Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe Monash Health’s development of a Policy and Procedure on the abuse of older people in metropolitan Australia. Monash Health is a public healthcare network that consists of six public hospitals and over 40 community health care sites throughout the South East of Melbourne.Design/methodology/approachAn Action Research Action Learning approach was employed to develop a comprehensive set of policy and procedure documents to ensure that Monash Health became compliant with the State Government’s expectations around responding to the abuse of older people in a consistent manner.FindingsAlmost 90,000 Monash Health hospital admissions per year are older people aged over 65 years. Senior Monash Health management recognized that staff did not have adequate information, education and resources to consistently identify and respond to situations of elder abuse. What is more, the existing internal Monash Health document Supporting Older People at Risk did not meet obligations stated in the Victorian Government’s Elder Abuse Strategy (2009).Originality/valueThe project’s emphasis upon participatory action research, cooperative inquiry and action learning further resulted in the identification of an opportunity to develop a strategic response to violence and abuse for all patients of Monash Health, not just older people.
Highlights
Introduction and research problemAbuse of older people has increasingly become a local, national and international concern
The World Health Organization stated that “elder abuse is a violation of Human Rights and a significant cause of injury, illness, lost productivity, isolation and despair”
The three basic elements of Participatory Action Research (PAR) are active collaboration, an iterative cyclical process and a consultative process. This process means that the project is undertaken in a collaborative and participatory manner with active engagement from stakeholders throughout the organization. This PAR/Action Research Action Learning (ARAL) project The researcher was a member of a “set” throughout the course of the project
Summary
Introduction and research problem Abuse of older people has increasingly become a local, national and international concern. In 2009 the Elder Abuse Prevention strategy and project released a practical guide for health services and community agencies dealing with the abuse of older people. Monash Health is a public healthcare network that consists of six major hospitals and over 40 community healthcare sites throughout the South East of Melbourne, Victoria. The unpublished Monash Health document, Supporting Older People at Risk, written in 1999, did not facilitate a consistent organizational response to elder abuse or increase the capacity of the staff to recognize or respond appropriately. Health document, Supporting Older People at Risk, was written in 1999 and did not facilitate a consistent organizational response to elder abuse or increase the capacity of staff to recognize and respond to abuse appropriately. This paper explains Monash Health’s approach to developing a Policy and Procedure on Elder Abuse using action research/action learning
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