Responding to Older Adult Maltreatment: Interdisciplinary Geriatric Care Provider Experiences and Training Needs.
Joshua Wyman, Cassandre Dion Larivière, Tala Tayem and 1 others
PMID 42007766WHAT IT FOUND
Providers recognized abuse well but hesitated to report it due to fear of being labeled whistleblowers or losing jobs.
They lacked clear knowledge of where to report and felt unsupported by supervisors and large caseloads.
Key findings
01Most providers feared negative consequences like being seen as a whistleblower or losing their job, which discouraged reporting.
02A significant portion of providers did not know where to report maltreatment or lacked confidence that supervisors would assist them.
03Nearly two-thirds of providers observed maltreatment frequently, but few had experience in assessment, reporting, or intervention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is qualitative and descriptive, so it cannot measure the actual rate of underreporting, only the perceptions of barriers. Participants were recruited from the Greater Toronto Area, so findings may not apply to rural or Indigenous communities. Self-reported data on willingness to report may be influenced by social desirability bias.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The authors disclosed receipt of financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high quantitative scores on risk factor recognition as evidence that providers feel prepared to act. The qualitative data shows a disconnect: providers knew what abuse looked like but were paralyzed by fear of job loss and unclear reporting pathways.