A LEADING academic says more focused research is needed into elder abuse given the ageing of the population and the failure of some current strategies.
“It has been estimated that 5 per cent of elderly Australians experience abuse, however these estimates are probably low,” said Queensland University of Technology professor of public health Philip Baker.
Some countries, Professor Baker said, estimated elder abuse as high as 44 per cent for people aged over 60, and he believed it was likely to be significantly under-reported in Australia.
In Australia, nine advocacy and elder abuse agencies operating telephone helplines reported assisting 6785 people in 2015 – a figure similar to other countries.
In almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of cases the perpetrators were the children of the older person – and 39 per cent of cases were psychological abuse, 37 per cent financial and 9 per cent physical abuse and neglect.
Professor Baker reviewed seven international studies on the effects of interventions designed to stop elder abuse. The studies involved 1924 elderly participants and 740 carers and health workers.
He said some studies had used carer education as the primary intervention, while others used education and support services for the victims. However, the evidence from the studies was low or very low quality.
“We did not find conclusive evidence for solutions to prevent elder abuse or its reoccurance,” Professor Baker said.
There was no conclusive evidence that caregiver training focused on improving knowledge was effective in reducing abuse. Programs aimed at detecting abuse may have led to improved identification of the abused and their abusers but it was uncertain whether they had led to less abuse.
A study that taught coping strategies to family carers of elderly people with dementia had reduced anxiety and depression in the carer which could lead to better outcomes for the elderly.
Professor Baker said two studies concerned with providing abuse victims with social support and education had yielded disappointing results.
“One study of 403 residents found those who participated in the intervention had a much higher level of abuse – in other words the opposite of the hoped effect.
“Disappointingly there is considerable uncertainty in the limited research and little to guide the development of a best practice model of care and prevention.
“We have an ageing population and we can expect elder abuse to increase unless we put funds and effort into high-quality research to find solutions to prevent this abuse of vulnerable members of our community.”
