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Pilot testing the detection of elder abuse through emergency care technicians (DETECT) screening tool: results from the DETECT pilot project |
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| Authors: | Brad Cannell Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez Melvin Livingston Katelyn K. Jetelina Jason Burnett Julie C. Weitlauf |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics &2. Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas, TX, USA;3. Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA;4. The Texas Elder Abuse &5. Mistreatment Institute (TEAM), Forensic Assessment Center Network (FACN)-APS Division, UTHealth, McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, USA;6. Women’s Mental Health and Aging Core, Sierra Pacific MIRECC, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA;7. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA |
| Abstract: | Objective: To pilot test the feasibility of implementing an elder abuse (EA) screening tool (DETECT) designed for medics. Methods: Testing occurred between September 17th, 2015 and October 26th, 2015. MedStar Mobile Healthcare medics completed the DETECT tool when responding to calls for community-dwelling patients 65 years of age or older. Results: The DETECT tool was used 1,248 times by 97% of medics responding to an eligible 911 call. Medics responded affirmatively to at least one screening item on 209 of the completed screenings (16.8%). Immediately following the introduction of the DETECT tool, there was an increase of 5.4 (226% above baseline) reports per month (p = 0.0056). Conclusions: The DETECT tool was easily incorporated into medic’s field-based practice and resulted in an increase in medic generated reports of EA to APS. Future research designed to evaluate the tool’s validity and reliability are warranted. |
| Keywords: | Elder Abuse EMS Screening |