Reporting elder abuse

Nurses and carers are invited to share their experiences of reporting suspected cases of elder abuse for an Australian research project.

Described as an Australian first study, researchers will investigate the under-researched field of elder abuse, which reportedly “lags 30 years behind” research and policy development in child abuse and domestic violence.

The Nursing Review reports Linda Starr, a PhD student from the school of nursing and midwifery at Flinders University, as saying most of the evidence collected in this area had come from America.

The study will form the basis of recommendations to improve the reporting of elder abuse for staff and the effectiveness of the system for the elderly.

Registered nurses, enrolled nurses and personal carers working in aged care facilities are being asked to share their experiences of identifying and reporting elder abuse as compelled under the Aged Care Act.

The research aims to identify the facilitators and barriers for nurses to identify abuse and make a report.

Ms Starr says memory loss, illness or disability are significant issues which mean a victim would be unable to testify.

She is excited to explore whether inadequate documentation practices within aged care facilities could be hampering the prosecution of a case.

“A lack of knowledge of what evidence is and how this should be collected, preserved and documented has led to prosecutors not being able to trial cases leaving perpetrators of abuse unaccountable for their actions,” she says.

Ms Starr will also explore the experience of investigating officers and police to better understand the hidden phenomenon of elder abuse in Australia. This part of her research will help identify the strengths or weaknesses of the reports and the impact on the capacity of police to investigate and prosecute these cases.

“The aim of the research is to identify what were the ‘bridges’ or good aspects of the experience that facilitated [a nurse or carer] recognising abuse and making the report and what were the ‘barriers – the aspects that impeded or made it difficult for someone to identify abuse and make the report,” she says.

For more information or to participate in the study; contact Linda Starr at linda.starr@flinders.edu.au or call (08) 8201 3340 or 0427 234 203.