NCJ Number
74757
Date Published
1980
Length
37 pages
Annotation
In order to determine whether elder abuse and neglect was perceived as a social and health problem in southern Maine and New Hampshire, a two-phase descriptive study using convenience sampling was conducted; study description and findings are appended to the joint congressional hearings on elder abuse.
Abstract
Two nationally accredited community/home health care agencies, the Portsmouth Community Health Services, Inc. (PCHS), and York County Health Services, Inc. (YCHS), were chosen to provide the data needed for this complex study. The survey instruments included personal and telephone interviews with local police departments, hospital administrators, senior citizens groups, adult protective services, and related social service agencies, as well as legislative service librarians in Maine and New Hampshire, and questionnaires based on the review of pertinent literature and on pilot submissions to PCHS and YCHS medical personnel. The survey focused on five types of elder abuse, i.e., physical, financial material, psychological, self-inflicted, and violation of rights. This study, admittedly weakened by time and resource constraints, did not gather sufficient family or health history data or pertinent attitudinal information to enable researchers to estimate the true scope and extent of the elder abuse and neglect problem. However, the findings did support the intuitive feeling that education group programs focusing on the needs of the elderly at home would contribute significantly to alleviating the problem. Actual or potential victims of elder abuse can be assisted by existing networks of supportive services in both Maine and New Hampshire. Data in tabular and graph form are included in the text, and 40 references are appended.