The role of the nurse in detecting elder abuse and neglect: current perspectives

Abstract

As global populations age, it is imperative that nurses have a knowledge base on the topic of elder abuse. Elder abuse can occur in any environment, but is most prevalent in the community setting. Older people may experience either a single type of abuse or several forms of abuse concurrently. It is also important that abuse at an institutional and societal level is recognized and addressed. Nurses have a responsibility to identify when abuse may be perpetrated and to assess the context, ensuring appropriate responses are undertaken. A knowledge of barriers to disclosure is also essential, as well as ensuring that the voice of the older person is prioritized in case management. In doing so, nurses have the ability to both prevent and provide early intervention to safeguard older people.

Examining nurses' role in Adult Protective Services related to safeguarding older people

“…However, after conducting a comprehensive literature search, we did not find enough literature to explain what role these APS nurses play in the agency. While we know community nurses play a key role in the identification, management and prevention of self‐neglect and elder abuse (Band‐Winterstein, 2018; Day & McCarthy, 2015; Day et al, 2015; Johnson, 2015; Mauk, 2011; Phelan, 2010), and nurses make unique contributions to interprofessional collaborative efforts to combat elder mistreatment (Capezuti, 2011; Erlingsson et al, 2011; Hirst et al, 2016; Kleba & Falk, 2014; Meeks‐Sjostrom, 2013; Mont et al, 2016; Phelan, 2018; Pickering et al, 2016; Sullivan, 2015; Winterstein, 2012), there is scant focus on nurses working with/in APS to investigate and substantiate mistreatment beyond being mandatory reporters in healthcare. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse a national survey with APS nurses to examine aspects of their adult safeguarding role.…”

“…As older populations rise globally, so does the potential of elder mistreatment. Consequently, safeguarding older people in the context of prevention and early intervention is a key responsibility of nurses (Phelan, 2018; Winterstein, 2012). In available data from Adult Protective Services (APS) agencies, there is a rising trend in the reporting of elder mistreatment cases, including abuse and self‐neglect, with reports accepted for investigation increasing by 15.2 percent from 2016 to 2018 nationwide (Aurelien et al, 2019).…”

“…Since elder mistreatment leads to complex physical and mental health concerns (Yunus et al, 2019), nurses' understanding of and response to holistic and person‐centre care plays an important role in alleviating elder mistreatment (Phelan, 2018). All nurses, regardless of setting, have an obligation to report suspected mistreatment of older people to APS.…”

“…All nurses, regardless of setting, have an obligation to report suspected mistreatment of older people to APS. Primary care and acute care nurses are key professionals to detect suspected cases of abuse, since visiting healthcare providers could be the only interaction many isolated victims have with the outside world (Phelan, 2018). Nurses working in home healthcare are in an even more advantageous position to identify elder mistreatment, because direct observation during a home visit when an older person is in his/her home environment is more likely to result in the identification of mistreatment compared with an office visit where self‐report measures were relied on (O'Brien et al, 2014).…”

<p>The Role of Attachment Styles and Communication Skills in Predicting Nursing and Medical Students’ Perception of Elder Abuse</p>

“…Creating a therapeutic relationships and trust can ease the disclosure of abuse by the elderly patients. 12 Those patients that are satisfied with their physician's communication are more likely to share relevant and detailed information about their exact problems and follow the prescribed treatment. 13,14 The attachment style of care providers may affect their professional interaction with patients as well as their perceptions of elder mistreatment.…”