A Survey of Emergency Department Health Care Provider on Awareness of Elder Abuse

Seong, Yun Woo; Sim, Min Seob; Lee, Tae Rim; Hwang, Sung Yeon; Cha, Won Chul; Yoon, Hee; Shin, Tae Gun; Jo, Ik Joon; Song, Keun Jeong; Rhee, Joong Eui; Jeong, Yeon Kwon

Abstract

PURPOSE
The population of senior citizens is rapidly growing in Korea, and this would inevitably result in the increase of elder abuse. This study was designed to survey healthcare providers in the emergency department, who may have a high probability of coming into contact with abused senior citizens, on the awareness of elder abuse, and to evaluate the level of legal knowledge and standard of education amongst these care providers.
METHODS
This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey research and was made for doctors and nurses with at least a one-year experience working in an emergency department at a university hospital in Seoul. A total of 142 participants were included for analysis.
RESULTS
Approximately 69.7% (n=99) of participants were relatively well aware of the obligation to report an elder abuse case. However, only 17.6% (n=25) of participants were aware of the method to file a report. Moreover, only 8.0% (n=11) of participants knew the provisions on punishing for not reporting. Only 15% (n=22) of participants received proper education relating to elder abuse after getting hired. Participants who received the education after getting hired have a better knowledge about elder abuse than those who did not receive the education (p=0.001). Participants who watch press reports about elder abuse showed to have better legal knowledge than those who do not watch such reports (p=0.012).
CONCLUSION
With regard to participants' level of awareness of the severity according to the type of abuse, physical abuse was seen as the most serious (4.22), followed by neglect (3.52), abandonment (3.18), emotional abuse (2.66), sexual abuse (2.61), and financial abuse (2.27).