An international collaborative study comparing Swedish and Japanese nurses’ reactions to elder abuse

Abstract

Despite cultural differences, responses of Swedish and Japanese nurses were very similar which points to a global 'humanness' of the problem of, and nurses' responses to, elder abuse. Results endorse the value of international collaborations that give information and inspiration to nursing colleagues across cultural boundaries. Results also give hope that global tools for elder abuse assessment and intervention can be developed.

Dementia and elder abuse: Understanding public health nurses’ experiences

“…[66] Similarly, intuition, suspicions and experience were factors used by public health nurses, nurses, auxiliary nurses, social workers and care workers in the identification of suspected elder abuse cases. [42,46] Recognizing suspected cases of elder abuse can be difficult. [33] The first step in clinical assessment is recognition of a possible abuse situation, followed by the gathering of evidence from a wide range of sources, observation, judgement, decision making and conclusion.…”

“…In addition, a Chinese study of 245 student nurses perceptions of elder abuse found that 57.2% of first year students and 38.5% of third year students viewed detection of elder abuse as the responsibility of social workers. [45] A study by Erlingson et al (2012) [46] used a questionnaire based on three hypothetical cases of elder abuse to examine Swedish community-based nurses (n = 81) and Japanese Public Health Nurses (n = 124) experience and responses to abuse. Swedish nurses described an approach that was practical, action-oriented and involved high levels of suspicion and personal intervention to attain increased control over situations.…”

“…Very abusive. (Paula, line[46][47] There's nothing to help you change it. And when you're having to go in twice a week and watch the same situation and know there's nothing you can do about it, it's emotionally draining.…”

Influence of health personnel's attitudes and knowledge in the detection and reporting of elder abuse: An exploratory systematic review

“…Such a tool can help maintain an index of suspicion for professionals, which is an essential attitude for detecting cases of suspected abuse. Four publications (Erlingsson, Ono, Sasaki, & Saveman, 2012;Sandmoe & Kirkevold, 2013;Sandmoe, Kirkevold, & Ballantyne, 2011;Strümpel & Hackl, 2011) considered the strategies of professionals who are faced with a possible case of abuse and found that knowledge and attitudes can affect the way in which they approach situations of suspected abuse. Strümpel and Hackl (2011) outlined strategies that emerged from interviews with professionals from several European countries on how they addressed domestic violence against older women.…”

A cluster randomized trial on improving nurses’ detection and management of elder abuse and neglect (I‐NEED): study protocol

“…In an international collaborative study comparing Swedish and Japanese nurses’ reaction to elder abuse, similarities in responses to cases were noted despite originating from two different cultures, pointing to the global ‘humanness’ of the problem of elder abuse (Erlingsson et al . ). Nurses, therefore, must be schooled with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify and manage maltreatment among this vulnerable group to rescue and restore dignity, self‐worth and quality of life to the affected individual.…”