TY - JOUR
T1 - Emergency Medical Services Perspectives on Identifying and Reporting Victims of Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Self-Neglect
AU - Rosen, Tony
AU - Lien, Cynthia
AU - Stern, Michael E.
AU - Bloemen, Elizabeth M.
AU - Mysliwiec, Regina
AU - McCarthy, Thomas J.
AU - Clark, Sunday
AU - Mulcare, Mary R.
AU - Ribaudo, Daniel S.
AU - Lachs, Mark S.
AU - Pillemer, Karl
AU - Flomenbaum, Neal E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - Background Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers, who perform initial assessments of ill and injured patients, often in a patient's home, are uniquely positioned to identify potential victims of elder abuse, neglect, or self-neglect. Despite this, few organized programs exist to ensure that EMS concerns are communicated to or further investigated by other health care providers, social workers, or the authorities. Objective To explore attitudes and self-reported practices of EMS providers surrounding identification and reporting of elder mistreatment. Methods Five semi-structured focus groups with 27 EMS providers. Results Participants reported believing they frequently encountered and were able to identify potential elder mistreatment victims. Many reported infrequently discussing their concerns with other health care providers or social workers and not reporting them to the authorities due to barriers: 1) lack of EMS protocols or training specific to vulnerable elders; 2) challenges in communication with emergency department providers, including social workers, who are often unavailable or not receptive; 3) time limitations; and 4) lack of follow-up when EMS providers do report concerns. Many participants reported interest in adopting protocols to assist in elder protection. Additional strategies included photographically documenting the home environment, additional training, improved direct communication with social workers, a dedicated location on existing forms or new form to document concerns, a reporting hotline, a system to provide feedback to EMS, and community paramedicine. Conclusions EMS providers frequently identify potential victims of elder abuse, neglect, and self-neglect, but significant barriers to reporting exist. Strategies to empower EMS providers and improve reporting were identified.
AB - Background Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers, who perform initial assessments of ill and injured patients, often in a patient's home, are uniquely positioned to identify potential victims of elder abuse, neglect, or self-neglect. Despite this, few organized programs exist to ensure that EMS concerns are communicated to or further investigated by other health care providers, social workers, or the authorities. Objective To explore attitudes and self-reported practices of EMS providers surrounding identification and reporting of elder mistreatment. Methods Five semi-structured focus groups with 27 EMS providers. Results Participants reported believing they frequently encountered and were able to identify potential elder mistreatment victims. Many reported infrequently discussing their concerns with other health care providers or social workers and not reporting them to the authorities due to barriers: 1) lack of EMS protocols or training specific to vulnerable elders; 2) challenges in communication with emergency department providers, including social workers, who are often unavailable or not receptive; 3) time limitations; and 4) lack of follow-up when EMS providers do report concerns. Many participants reported interest in adopting protocols to assist in elder protection. Additional strategies included photographically documenting the home environment, additional training, improved direct communication with social workers, a dedicated location on existing forms or new form to document concerns, a reporting hotline, a system to provide feedback to EMS, and community paramedicine. Conclusions EMS providers frequently identify potential victims of elder abuse, neglect, and self-neglect, but significant barriers to reporting exist. Strategies to empower EMS providers and improve reporting were identified.
KW - elder abuse
KW - elder neglect
KW - emergency medical services
KW - self-neglect
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jemermed.2017.04.021
DO - 10.1016/j.jemermed.2017.04.021
M3 - Article
C2 - 28712685
AN - SCOPUS:85023770343
SN - 0736-4679
VL - 53
SP - 573
EP - 582
JO - Journal of Emergency Medicine
JF - Journal of Emergency Medicine
IS - 4
ER -