Addressing elder abuse through integrating law into health: What do allied health professionals at a Community Health Service in Melbourne, Australia, think? | Zendy

Lewis Virginia J. | Zendy; White Vanessa | Zendy; Hawthorne Faith | Zendy; Eastwood Jess | Zendy; Mullins Robyn | Zendy

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Addressing elder abuse through integrating law into health: What do allied health professionals at a Community Health Service in Melbourne, Australia, think?

Author(s) -

Lewis Virginia J.,

White Vanessa,

Hawthorne Faith,

Eastwood Jess,

Mullins Robyn

Publication year - 2020

Publication title -

australasian journal on ageing

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63

H-Index - 34

eISSN - 1741-6612

pISSN - 1440-6381

DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12720

Subject(s) - elder abuse , general partnership , service (business) , medicine , nursing , health professionals , psychology , suicide prevention , poison control , health care , political science , medical emergency , law , business , marketing

This research looked at the attitudes of Community Health Service (CHS) staff regarding the integration of a lawyer into their CHS both before and after the integration occurred. It assessed their confidence in identifying and addressing elder abuse at each point. A written survey was distributed to staff before the lawyer commenced (n = 126), and approximately 12 months afterwards (n = 54). The preliminary survey demonstrated widespread agreement that legal issues can affect older people and supported having a lawyer in a CHS. Respondents were not confident about their capacity to identify abuse and provide referrals to a lawyer, but this improved in the follow‐up survey. These CHS staff were aware of the potential impacts of elder abuse and supported embedding a lawyer in the health service. Information and training as part of this service model should focus on the skills needed for CHS staff to play their role in such a partnership.

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