NCEA considerably explains why screening could greatly aid nurses in identifying, preventing or treating elderly abuse, but also why it comes with positives and negatives (NCEA, 2016). Screening can lead to early detection and prevention. Also, an encounter with a professional may be the elder’s only chance to change an abusive situation and prevent its continuation or exacerbation. The early detection can result in stopping the elder abuse. On the other hand, screening poses an additional challenge for Adult Protective Services (APS), as they are already overwhelmed and under-resourced, there is a perceived lack of response to screening, detection, and reporting, which may lead to even less reporting by healthcare providers. Another reason …show more content…
But according to Garma (2017), the nurse’s attitude and knowledge on the topic at hand plays a big role in detection and reporting. This is based on the influence of definitions used by the professionals in the detection and reporting of abuse, the ability of knowledge and attitudes to act as barriers or facilitators of abuse detection and reporting, the influence of the knowledge and attitudes of professionals in strategies for action taken in response to suspected abuse, and training as a means to improve the competence of professionals to detect and report abuse (Garma, 2017). Professionals have reported that the lack of confidence and knowledge regarding defining, diagnosing, and reporting abuse are important barriers to managing abuse effectively, therefore educating medical staff has been identified as the most effective way of improving the recognition of cases of abuse (Garma, 2017). Also, the nurse’s attitude also influences their decision to report. Reluctance to report abuse unless certain that it had occurred, empathy with the abuser (if done by another professional), fear of the consequences of reporting, dissatisfaction with the authorities’ response to the reported abuse cases, or lack of confidence in identifying or reporting geriatric victims of abuse or neglect are all examples of emotions and attitudes play a role in the decision to report (Garma, 2017). There is so …show more content…
We cannot apply prevention tactics if we do not understand the types of abuse and how they present themselves. Although there is not much knowledge about prevention strategies, there are a few strategies that can be implemented to decrease the chances of abuse. The CDC works to prevent elder abuse. They do this by documenting the extent of the problem; conducting research on the factors that put people that put people at risk or protect them from violence; creating and evaluating he effectiveness of prevention programs; helping state and local partners plan, implement, and evaluate prevention programs; and conducting research on the effective adoption and dissemination of prevention strategies. But, sometimes you cannot prevent the initial occurrence of abuse but with health and social services there are ways to prevent the reoccurrence of abuse. Mental health assessments can determine if the elder is capable of meeting his or her own basic needs, making decisions about services, offering testimony, and protecting him or herself against abuse. It is also important to test the caregiver to determine if they are capable of caring for others. Another way to prevent elder abuse from occurring again is to counsel the victim in order to assess their options, plan their safety, resolve conflicts, and overcome trauma. The counseling sessions will allow the