An Education Course

1
Introduction to Nursing Responses to Elder
Mistreatment

• An Education Course
• Dates add
• Location add
• Sponsoring Agency add
• The course curriculum was developed by the
  International Association of Forensic Nurses
  (IAFN) under grant 2003-DD-BX-K006 from the
  Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice
  Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

2
Nursing Responses to Elder Mistreatment

• Instructor introductions
• Multidisciplinary team approach to teaching

3
Nursing Responses to Elder Mistreatment

• What the course is/covers

4
Participant Introductions

• Name, title/employer, practice setting
• What motivated you to take the course and/or what
  do you hope to learn?

5
Administrative Matters

• Microphones
• Cell phones
• Bathrooms, breaks and food/beverages
• Rooms to be used
• Start and end time
• CEU information
• Evaluation

6
Course Goal

• Help nurses acquire essential knowledge and
  skills to enhance their ability to recognize and
  appropriately respond to actual or potential
  elder mistreatment (EM)

7
Course Objectives

• As a result of this course, you will be able to
  evaluate
• Nursing roles in recognizing and responding to
  actual or potential EM
• Demographics of older population
• Vulnerability and risk of mistreatment
• Scope/nature of EM
• Relevant laws, regulations, policies and
  procedures
• Ethical issues

8
Course Objectives (cont.)

• Screening and assessment steps
• Signs of actual or potential EM
• Multidisciplinary team approaches
• Photo-documentation
• Forensic evidence
• Documentation
• Discharge/care transition planning

9
Case Questions

• What do you currently know to help you deal with
  these problems? How would you respond to them?

• What are the nursing issues in this case in
  relation to actual or potential EM?
• In what practice settings might a nurse encounter
  EM? How might issues vary across settings?
• What do you already know that might help you
  appropriately respond to these issues? What do
  you still need to know?
• What forensic nursing issues arise in this case
  study?

10
What is Elder Mistreatment?

• Intentional acts by a caregiver or trusted other
  that cause harm/serious risk of harm to a
  vulnerable older adult and/or
• Failure by a caregiver/trusted other to meet the
  basic needs of a vulnerable older adult or
  protect her/him from harm.
• R. Bonnie R. Wallace, Elder mistreatment,
  abuse, neglect and exploitation in an aging
  America, 2003

11
Focus on Vulnerable Older Adults

• For courses purpose, vulnerable older adults
  have at least one self-care deficit and rely on
  trusted others for part or all of their basic
  activities of daily living and/or instrumental
  activities of daily living

12
Types of Elder Mistreatment

• Neglect
• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional/psychological abuse
• Abandonment
• Financial exploitation
• Violation of personal rights

13
Areas Not Addressed by Course Except as Applied
to Elder Mistreatment

• Self-neglect
• Other violations against older people
• Mistreatment of younger vulnerable adults
• Primary prevention of EM

14
Nursing Roles in Responding to Elder Mistreatment

• Screen and assess for EM
• Document complaints, history, findings and
  interventions
• Preserve/minimize damage to forensic evidence.
  Coordinate with forensic specialists to collect
  evidence
• Coordinate with other medical providers and
  community agencies as appropriate
• Safely transition or discharge the patient

15
Nursing roles (cont.)

• Nursing interventions are most effective when
  part of multidisciplinary team response
• Overall goal DO NO HARM

16
Forensic Nursing

• A specialty area of nursing in which nurses
  provide specialized care for those who have been
  affected or are at high risk to be affected by
  intentional and unintentional injury
• Forensic nurses provide expert patient care while
  also attending to medicolegal implications during
  a patient encounter

17
Forensic nurses can serve as resources for nurses
to

• Recognize signs of actual or potential EM through
  observations of and interactions with patients
  and family members or caregivers
• Ask questions that elicit information about
  actual or potential mistreatment

18
Forensic nurses can serve as resources for nurses
to (cont)

• Fulfill requirements for mandated reporting to
  law enforcement and/or regulatory agencies
• Documenting findings (written and photographic)
• Collect and preserve evidence
• Initiate safety planning as needed
• Know when to contact a forensic nurse specialist
  for assistance

19
Closing Assessment

• Write down one major concept you learned from
  this module and how you will apply it in your
  practice