Defining Elder Abuse Research Articles

Family-Centred Interventions for Elder Abuse: a Narrative Review.

Information about elder abuse has not only been sparse due to factors such as underreporting or lack of standardized research, but also in defining elder abuse. However elder abuse is commonly understood to be a single/repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship which embodies an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to elderly individual. In elder abuse, the relationship of trust usually entails the family, as it family members who are noted to be the most likely perpetrators of elder abuse With the increased prevalence of elder abuse in developed countries and a proclivity towards individualized interventions, this narrative review sought to explore family-centered interventions used to address elder abuse by using a RE-AIM framework.

Elder Abuse Identification in the Prehospital Setting: An Examination of State Emergency Medical Services Protocols.

To describe statewide emergency medical service (EMS) protocols relating to identification, management, and reporting of elder abuse in the prehospital setting. Cross-sectional analysis. Statewide EMS protocols in the United States. Publicly available statewide EMS protocols identified from published literature, http://EMSprotocols.org, and each state's public health website. Protocols were reviewed to determine whether elder abuse was mentioned, elder abuse was defined, potential indicators of elder abuse were listed, management of older adults experiencing abuse was described, and instructions regarding reporting were provided. EMS protocols for child abuse were reviewed in the same manner for the purpose of comparison. Of the 35 publicly available statewide EMS protocols, only 14 (40.0%) mention elder abuse. Of protocols that mention elder abuse, 6 (42.9%) define elder abuse, 10 (71.4%) describe indicators of elder abuse, 8 (57.1%) provide instruction regarding management, and 12 (85.7%) provide instruction regarding reporting. Almost twice as many states met each of these metrics for child abuse. Statewide EMS protocols for elder abuse vary in regard to identification, management, and reporting, with the majority of states having no content on this subject. Expansion and standardization of protocols may increase the identification of elder abuse.

Elder Abuse and Neglect Intervention in the Clinical Setting: Perceptions and Barriers Faced by Primary Care Physicians in Malaysia.

This qualitative study attempts to explore the definition, perceptions, practice experience, and barriers of primary care physicians (PCPs) in identifying and intervening in cases of elder abuse and neglect at the primary care level. Semistructured in-depth interview was conducted among 10 PCPs. Participants were selected by purposive sampling. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. In general, PCPs showed consistency in defining elder abuse and neglect. PCPs considered that they were optimally positioned to intervene in cases of elder abuse and neglect, but indicated the potential of overlooking such problems. The hurdles faced by PCPs in the identification and intervention of elder abuse were determined to be occurring at three levels: clinical, organizational, and policy. At the clinical level, PCPs recognize that they are lacking both the confidence and knowledge of elder abuse and neglect intervention. PCPs' conflicting personal and professional beliefs create barriers during the clinical practice. Time constraints, patients' other clinical problems, and, in addition, the preservation of a good doctor-patient relationship overshadow the importance of addressing and intervening in elder abuse and neglect issues during the consultation. This is further exacerbated by the barriers perceived by the patients: their nondisclosure and reluctance to accept outside intervention. At the organizational level, the lack of efficient interagency networks or support for the health system poses barriers. At the policy level, the absence of legislation specifically addressing elder abuse also creates considerable difficulties. However, PCPs gave differing responses when asked about a law concerning the elderly and mandatory reporting. Addressing these multilevel barriers is critical for ensuring that opportunities arising at the primary care level for elder maltreatment intervention are correctly utilized.

Practitioners' Views on Elder Mistreatment Research Priorities: Recommendations From a Research-to-Practice Consensus Conference

This article presents recommendations from expert practitioners and researchers regarding future directions for research on elder abuse prevention. Using the Research-to-Practice Consensus Workshop model, participants critiqued academic research on the prevention of elder mistreatment and identified practice-based suggestions for a research agenda on this topic. The practitioners' critique resulted in 10 key recommendations for future research that include the following priority areas: defining elder abuse, providing researchers with access to victims and abusers, determining the best approaches in treating abusers, exploiting existing data sets, identifying risk factors, understanding the impact of cultural factors, improving program evaluation, establishing how cognitive impairment affects legal investigations, promoting studies of financial and medical forensics, and improving professional reporting and training. It is hoped that these recommendations will help guide future research in such a way as to make it more applicable to community practice.

Elder abuse: an overview of recent and current developments

Within the last 6 years there has been increasing recognition of the problem of elder abuse and neglect in the United Kingdom (UK). However, defining elder abuse and neglect remains problematic. Identification of those people who are abused, and their abusers, is also fraught with difficulties. Interventions with victims and perpetrators of elder abuse and neglect are in the formative stages of development. The purpose of this paper is to give a brief overview of elder abuse and neglect, and to consider some of the difficulties in both the detection of, and intervention in, abusive situations. The dynamics of abuse will be considered, as will the need for multi-disciplinary approaches to identification, assessment and intervention.

The portrayal of elder abuse in the national media

Over the last two decades, researchers and policy makers have begun to devote more attention to the problem of elder abuse. Still, compared to studies on other types of family violence, research on elder abuse is scarce. To better understand how elder abuse is portrayed in the media and using “newsmaking criminology” as a theoretical framework, this study considers how 11 newspapers describe the phenomenon. In all, 530 articles about elder abuse were content analyzed using standard rules of content analysis. Results suggest that certain types of elder abuse are excluded from the press. In addition, the press tends to define elder abuse as a crime, but not as a domestic violence offense. Implications are provided.

Review of Elder Abuse Literature

As the population continues to age, elder abuse is an issue that must not be ignored. Although elder abuse is not entirely a new issue, it is time for a unified definition to be identified, prevention programs to be implemented and effective interventions to emerge. This paper provides a synopsis of elder abuse through a comprehensive review of literature. Factors associated with defining elder abuse, types of abuse among the elderly, varying perceptions of elder abuse, perpetrations and situations of elder abuse, recognizing elder abuse, responding to and reporting elder abuse, and interventions and elder abuse are presented. Suggestions for further initiatives are provided.

Theoretical Orientation and Responses to Abuse in Nursing Homes

Abstract Nursing home ombudsmen are often the first agents to learn of cases of elder abuse and neglect. As such, they are in a critical position in the response system. In this research, we surveyed 203 ombudsmen from 26 states to examine: the process used to address allegations of abuses against older persons; how ombudsmen define abuse; what problems they confront; and how they explain the existence of elder abuse and neglect. Findings suggest that they (1) investigate and refer cases to a range of aging, social welfare, health, and criminal justice agencies, (2) confront numerous problems in investigating and determining case outcome, (3) define elder abuse in ways similar to nursing home professionals, and (4) see elder abuse in a complex framework. Their definitions were individualized and rights-centered rather than criminal justice based. Their perceptions about causality had only minor influence on their responses to, and definitions of, elder abuse. Implications are provided.

A Qualitative Examination of the Similarities and Differences of Elder Abuse Definitions Among Four Groups: Nursing Home Directors, Nursing Home Employees, Police Chiefs and Students

ABSTRACT A common claim found in the elder abuse literature is that different groups offer varying definitions of elder abuse. Very little research, however, has examined what these differences are and how the differences are manifested in various settings. To fill this void, this research examines the definitions of elder abuse provided by respondents from four groups in the Commonwealth of Virginia: nursing home directors (n = 54), nursing home employees (n = 132), police chiefs (n = 64), and students enrolled in upper-level sociology and criminal justice courses (n = 127). Results of standard thematic content analysis examining the elder abuse definitions show significant differences in several areas. Primarily, nursing home directors are more likely to define elder abuse from an ethical perspective whereas police chiefs and students are more likely to define elder abuse from a legalistic perspective. Implications are provided.

Defining elder abuse

The definition of elder abuse is at a formative stage in British social policy. This paper examines four existing definitions of elder abuse from policy and socio-legal perspectives. The development of the definitions is reviewed as part of the process of problem formation within the context of the social construction of old age in British social policy. Central themes and terms contained in the definitions are analysed in detail from legal and policy standpoints. This leads to an assessment of the assumptions that might lie behind the definitions and a consideration of the implications of inclusion within a given definition. Finally, the definitions are compared to the Law Commission recommendations to form the basis of public law protection of vulnerable adults.

Family Members’ Perceptions of and Attitudes toward Elder Abuse

The author examines the nature of the relationship between elders and their primary caregivers by comparing their attitudes toward the definition, criminalization, and treatment of elder abuse. Elder abuse was examined through the use of extensive interviews and mailed questionnaires. Data were collected from a random sample of noninstitutionalized elders and their caregivers. Results suggest that the perceptions of the two groups are quite similar; both elders and caregivers tend to define elder abuse in terms of neglect and to support the criminalization of elder abuse.

Elder abuse and neglect.

Elder abuse is now being recognised as a serious social problem. This article discusses the difficulties in defining elder abuse and describes the characteristics of the abused and the abuser. It then suggests how nurses may recognise abuse and outlines the interventions that may be employed.

Shedding light on elder abuse.

Elder abuse as a social problem has become the focus of nursing research only in the past decade. As information about the incidence and prevalence of spousal and child abuse came to light, data emerged regarding dependent elderly being abused by adult caregivers, often their children. Documenting and defining elder abuse has been problematic because of a lack of consensual definition and the social stigma surrounding the problem. Standardized assessment methods are still lacking. Nursing research studies focusing on abuse have begun to clarify the variables of abuse and have helped to describe potentially abusive family caregivers. These studies have laid the groundwork for generating theory that will be useful to practitioners to identify and intervene in this family violence arena.