Although reports of elder abuse to official agencies have been steadily increasing, physicians report only 2% of reported cases. Multiple barriers to reporting exist. This article reviews the terminology, epidemiology, and clinical signs associated with elder abuse in the community and offers practical strategies for intervention.

OBJECTIVE To investigate characteristics of people with dementia and their caregivers (CGs) that are associated with mistreatment in order to inform clinicians about screening for mistreatment. DESIGN A convenience sample of CG-care recipient (CR) dyads were assessed for literature-supported factors associated with mistreatment, and evidence of mistreatment for the prior year was collected. A...

BACKGROUND Elder abuse is recognised worldwide as a serious problem, yet quantitative syntheses of prevalence studies are rare. We aimed to quantify and understand prevalence variation at the global and regional levels. METHODS For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched 14 databases, including PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, and MEDLINE, using a comprehensive search strategy ...

This study examined police reporting behavior in elder mistreatment (abuse, neglect, and exploitation) cases. Relying on a survey of police officers in Alabama, this research investigates a nested model of mandatory reporting using linear regression techniques. Only about half of all elder mistreatment cases are reported to the proper authorities. Job experience, contact with the elderly, under...

It is estimated that between 1.5 and 2 million older adults experience abuse or neglect each year in the United States. Elder mistreatment may be physical, psychological, or financial, and it may be perpetrated by family members or by other informal or formal caregivers. Physicians are encouraged to play an active role in assessment, intervention, and prevention.

OBJECTIVE to perform a systematic review of studies measuring the prevalence of elder abuse or neglect, either reported by older people themselves, or family and professional caregivers or investigated using objective measures. METHODS we conducted a comprehensive literature search of multiple databases up to October 2006, supplemented by a search of the references of all relevant articles. V...