Elder Abuse Computerized Decision Support System

• NCJ Number: 249185
• Author(s): Kendon J. Conrad
• Date Published: March 2015
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2011-IJ-CX-0014
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Test/Measurement; Report (Technical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)

Annotation

This project field-tested the implementation and performance of the Elder Abuse Decision Support System (EADSS) as a means of improving the reporting, assessments, and interventions in elder abuse cases processed in six Illinois agencies compared to standard protocols, and it estimated the psychometric properties of EADSS measures of abuse, neglect, and exploitation in such cases.

Abstract

The field-test results supported the hypothesis that use of the EADSS will result in higher substantiation rates (""verified" or "some indication") than the current system of assessment known as ANE (Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation). The ANE substantiation rate was 13.6-percent lower than the substantiation rate of the EADSS (46.6 percent compared to 60.2 percent). The EADSS rate was particularly higher for sexual abuse than the ANE system. The report attributes this improved substantiation rate to EADSS' assessment for all types of abuse, regardless of whether it was alleged by the reporter. A focus group with the IT staff reached a consensus that the EADSS could be improved by being a stand-alone system designed specifically to support the work of Adult Protective Services. The name for this stand-alone system was changed from EADSS to AADSS (Adult Abuse Decision Support System). This change occurred as of July 2013. The project examined all of the dimensional measures of the EADSS for the cases that were substantiated. This report briefly summarizes those measures that reached or exceeded the criteria for a useful dimensional measure, followed by a discussion of the measures that did not reach the criteria. The measures of abuser risk met the criteria for reliability and unidimensionality.