Publications on elder abuse
Discussing screening for elder abuse at primary health care level
This paper presents a critical review of the literature, discusses what is needed in order to advance knowledge by Primary Health Care (PHC) workers about elder abuse and makes recommendations about detection as a first step for the management and prevention of elder abuse. It takes into consideration the debate among health care professionals about screening for domestic violence following the lack of recommendations by screening committees in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Controversies regarding definitions of elder abuse and screening reveal, among others, the supremacy of the medical model and evidence-based medicine. This review challenges such supremacy and, instead, proposes a humanistic model.
A global response to elder abuse and neglect
Building Primary Health Care Capacity to Deal with the Problem Worldwide
Until very recently, elder abuse was a social problem hidden from public view and mostly regarded as a private matter. Evidence is accumulating, however, to indicate that elder abuse, which includes the pervasive issue of neglect, is an important public health and societal problem that manifests itself in both developing and developed countries. From a health and social perspective, unless the primary health care and social services sectors are well equipped to identify and deal with the problem, elder abuse will continue to be underdiagnosed and overlooked.
WHO/ALC and CIG-UNIGE, with partners from all continents, conducted this study in order to develop a strategy to prevent elder abuse within the primary health care context. The study consisted of a qualitative research project in eight participating countries focused on testing questions originally devised by researchers in Montreal. These questions were aimed at raising awareness among health professionals of the issue of elder abuse.