a. The purpose of this study is to identify beliefs regarding elder abuse held by modern-day nursing students. By identifying common beliefs and clearing up misconceptions, future nurses will be able to identify and work to prevent elder abuse.
b. There were several works used as background for this study. The first work, from Baker (1975), used “granny battering” as the description for elder abuse. Further research in the 1970’s era and prior indicates that there was little knowledge regarding elder abuse at this time. Phillips (1995) provided real-life examples for the study, using doctor and nurses’ stories from working in the medical field. To determine what constitutes elder abuse, Quinn and Tomita (1986) defined elder abuse as physical, sexual, financial, emotional and right-violating. Adding onto Quinn and Tomita’s study, the National Centre on Elder Abuse (1998) indicated that an elder’s self-neglect of basic human needs, abandonment of the elder by his or her …show more content…
The results of the study indicated that first-year students defined elder abuse as physical, psychological and neglect, while the third-year students defined elder abuse as physical, neglect and psychological; although both cohorts identified these categories as most prevalent, the order of importance was different. Neither cohort, however, identified financial or sexual abuse as prevalent, and neither cohort considered name-calling as an abusive behavior. As for risk factors, both cohorts agreed elderly females were at the highest risk for elder abuse, as well as those who were financially disadvantaged and elderly who were cognitively incompetent. Neither cohort considered dependence on a caregiver as an increased risk factor for abuse; in fact, they considered family caregivers a factor that decreases risk for abuse. As for the nurse’s role in elder abuse, both cohorts felt that it was more of the social worker’s responsibility, rather than the nurse’s, to report and deal with elder
b. There were several works used as background for this study. The first work, from Baker (1975), used “granny battering” as the description for elder abuse. Further research in the 1970’s era and prior indicates that there was little knowledge regarding elder abuse at this time. Phillips (1995) provided real-life examples for the study, using doctor and nurses’ stories from working in the medical field. To determine what constitutes elder abuse, Quinn and Tomita (1986) defined elder abuse as physical, sexual, financial, emotional and right-violating. Adding onto Quinn and Tomita’s study, the National Centre on Elder Abuse (1998) indicated that an elder’s self-neglect of basic human needs, abandonment of the elder by his or her …show more content…
The results of the study indicated that first-year students defined elder abuse as physical, psychological and neglect, while the third-year students defined elder abuse as physical, neglect and psychological; although both cohorts identified these categories as most prevalent, the order of importance was different. Neither cohort, however, identified financial or sexual abuse as prevalent, and neither cohort considered name-calling as an abusive behavior. As for risk factors, both cohorts agreed elderly females were at the highest risk for elder abuse, as well as those who were financially disadvantaged and elderly who were cognitively incompetent. Neither cohort considered dependence on a caregiver as an increased risk factor for abuse; in fact, they considered family caregivers a factor that decreases risk for abuse. As for the nurse’s role in elder abuse, both cohorts felt that it was more of the social worker’s responsibility, rather than the nurse’s, to report and deal with elder