Italian healthcare professionals' attitude and barriers to mandatory reporting of elder abuse: An exploratory study.

INTRODUCTION: Elder abuse in recent times has reached a remarkable international importance. This complex phenomenon is still little understood and studied in Italy. The aim of this study was to explore Italian healthcare professionals' attitude and barriers toward elder abuse, with a glimpse on the current scenario and evidences to develop an action plan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 42 healthcare professionals filled a questionnaire with 13 open-ended questions, analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. Data were grouped under the following 4 core-themes: description of elder abuse, abuse detection and perception, barriers to reporting, and professional orientation and approach; then they were analyzed to find their central component and discussed jointly. RESULTS: The respondents described physical (64%) and psychological (50%) abuse and neglect (50%) as the three main characteristics of elder abuse; the 59% of them reported at least one experience in detecting or suspecting elder abuse. The 76% of participants believed the report has to be submitted to the Judicial Authority only in presence of compelling evidences. Furthermore, the 73% of the sample perceived that healthcare professionals are the main figures who have to cope with elder abuse, however they did not feel as their exclusive role the assessment of the patients' potential abuse. CONCLUSION: Knowledge about elder abuse was limited to physical/psychological issues and, moreover, the legal obligation to report was only poorly known. Imperative is the creation of specific education and training courses, in addition to the need for a multidisciplinary and empathetic approach.

Recognition of elder abuse by Italian nurses and nursing students: evaluation by the Caregiving Scenario Questionnaire.

Elder abuse appears to be widely underestimated by health professionals. We aimed to evaluate the recognition of elder abuse among Italian nurses and nursing students related to their professional, personal experiences and socio-demographic characteristics. 193 nursing students and 76 nurses attending a post-graduate nursing management master's degree at the University of Bologna (Italy) completed the Caregiving Scenario Questionnaire measuring the ability to recognize elder abuse. Data on age, gender, previous professional and personal experiences as well as nursing school teaching were collected. Regarding abusive items, preventing elder's movements by putting a table over the elder's lap was identified by almost all participants, while locking someone at home was identified by half of them. Neglect was recognized by 25 % of nurses and 20 % of students, respectively. The majority of nurses and students correctly identified non-abusive strategies. Reporting being taught on elder abuse was inversely associated with a good performance in detecting neglect. Italian nurses' and nursing students' uncertainty in identifying abusive strategies, especially neglect, was consistent with results of previous studies in other countries. Standardized education in healthcare core curriculum, reference guidance and training are strongly needed to improve elder abuse recognition in Italy.