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Elder Abuse Geriatrics: Describing an Important New Medical Specialist

NCJ Number
309708
Journal
Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect Volume: 36 Issue: 4 (SI) Dated: August 2024 Pages: 367-383
Date Published
August 2024
Length
17 pages
Annotation

This article describes the training, scope of practice, ethical role, and best practices for elder mistreatment medical consultation, with the hope of addressing and reducing elder mistreatment, abuse, and neglect.

Abstract

Elder mistreatment, including elder abuse and neglect, is a difficult diagnosis to make and manage for most providers. To address this, two elder abuse consultation teams were developed for patients in the hospital and emergency department settings. As these teams have developed, the providers involved have obtained specialized training and experience that the authors believe contributes to a new field of elder abuse geriatrics, a corollary to the well-established field of child abuse pediatrics. Providers working in this field require specialized training and have a specialized scope of practice that includes forensic evaluation, evaluation of cognition and capacity, care coordination and advocacy for victims of abuse, and collaboration with protective services and law enforcement. Here, the authors describe the training, scope of practice, ethical role, and best practices for elder mistreatment medical consultation. They hope this will serve as a starting point for this new and important medical specialty. (Published Abstract Provided)

Date Published: August 1, 2024