Given the lack of a systematic understanding of case outcomes for elder mistreatment response programs (EMRPs), this report covers the objectives and features of a project that involves the development of a taxonomy of successful EMRP intervention outcomes that can be used to develop EMRP intervention outcome measures in future research.
Elder mistreatment (EM) refers to “an intentional act or lack of action by a person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust, which causes harm or risk of harm to an older adult” (Hall et al., 2016). EM consists of five subtypes, including physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse/exploitation, and neglect by others. Although EM research has made substantial progress in providing reliable knowledge about its prevalence, risk factors, and consequences, the lack of understanding of the features of effective EM intervention is a major concern. In addressing this concern, the project featured in the current report involves the development of a taxonomy of successful EMRP intervention outcomes intended to provide a systematic understanding and establish a framework that can be used to develop EMRP intervention outcome measures in future research. Three project objectives are discussed in this report. One objective is to develop a taxonomy of case outcomes that constitute success for an EMRP intervention. A second objective is to verify the validity of the developed taxonomy of EMRP case outcomes. The third objective is to use an intervention outcome measurement strategy called goal attainment scaling (GAS) as a foundation for developing preliminary measurement scales for each outcome in the taxonomy. This report discusses the activities, progress, and benefits related to each of these objectives. 3 tables and 37 references