Learning to Detect and Prevent Elder Abuse: The Need for a Valid Risk Assessment Instrument

AbstractPrevalence data of elder abuse from social and health services only present a tip of the iceberg. A large amount of situations is left undetected. Professionals often lack knowledge and skills on the topic. Consequently, this paper focuses on training professionals to prevent and assess elder abuse by drawing on a literature search and previous quantitative research on learning and supporting the prevention of elder abuse. This paper provides an understanding of the multi-dimensionality of elder abuse, explores the potential and need for an assessment instrument to support prevention by professionals and examines existing instruments, while addressing a number of shortcomings. Education programmes for care professionals often include identifying signs and symptoms of elder abuse, how to manage suspected cases, and the role of the professional in protecting potential victims and ethical issues. However, there lacks a user-friendly, brief, multi-dimensional instrument, which could support professionals in identifying symptoms of elder abuse