Elder Abuse and Neglect: Assessment Tools, Interventions, and Recommendations for Effective Service Provision

With our communities rapidly aging, there is always a clear need for greater knowledge on how to serve elders. Professionals must be able to recognize cases of abuse and neglect and provide appropriate follow up services. Through reviewing recent literature, this paper surveys existing assessment tools and interventions, describes characteristics of effective service provision, and offers recommendations for best practice and future research. There lacks an instrument that fulfills the need for brevity, thoroughness, and user-friendliness. Best practices for service provision to maltreated elders were reviewed including the need for multidisciplinary collaboration, cultural competency, professional training, and responding to ageism.