Medical students' recognition of elder abuse

✍ Scribed by Jonas Thompson-McCormick; Lisa Jones; Claudia Cooper; Gill Livingston

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 80 KB
• Volume: 24
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.2209

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Objectives

To determine the proportion of fourth‐year medical students who correctly recognise abusive and not abusive care of older people and whether recognition is related to sociodemographic factors and education.

Design

A cross‐sectional self‐report questionnaire study, using the Caregiving Scenario Questionnaire; measuring recognition of elder abuse according to the Department of Health's definition.

Participants

Fourth‐year medical students at University College London and the University of Birmingham, UK.

Results

Two hundred and two of 207 students (97.6%) responded. Twenty‐nine of 201 (14.4%) identified accepting someone was not clean; 113/200 (56.5%) locking someone in alone; and 160/200 (80.0%) trapping someone in an armchair as abusive. All medical students correctly identified four out of five not abusive responses. Twelve (6.0%) incorrectly identified camouflaging the door to prevent wandering as abusive. Logistic regression analysis found the independent predictors of recognising that locking in alone was abusive were working as a professional carer (OR = 3.33, 95% CI = 1.25–8.89, p < 0.05) and reporting being taught to look for elder abuse (OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.24–0.89, p < 0.05). Similarly, the independent predictors of recognising that restraint in an armchair was abusive were attending university A versus university B (OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.09–5.26, p < 0.05); being of White British versus Asian ethnicity (OR = 4.00, 95% CI = 1.75–9.09, p < 0.01).

Conclusions

Medical students are good at recognising not abusive care, but not as successful at recognising elder abuse. Working as a professional carer was associated with better recognition of abuse, while personal contact with a person with dementia and recalling formal education about abuse were not. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.