Citation

Heath JM, Kobylarz FA, Brown M, Castaño S. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 2005; 53(9): 1538-1542.

Affiliation

Department of Family Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. heathjm@UMDNJ.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53469.x

PMID

16137284

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe the interventions for adult protective service (APS) clients referred for geriatric assessment. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: In-home geriatric assessments conducted in two New Jersey counties. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred eleven APS clients; 74% female; mean age 77. MEASUREMENTS: Cognition, affect, nutrition, prevalence of selected medical diagnoses and functional conditions, and categories of interventions. RESULTS: Home health agency services were initiated for 46% of APS clients suffering from all forms of mistreatment. Institutional placements (36%) and guardianship interventions (36%) were correlated with caregiver neglect, especially in female APS clients and those diagnosed with dementia. Urgent medications (25%) were prescribed across all mistreatment classifications, and acute hospitalization (20%) was correlated with circumstances of physical abuse. CONCLUSION: An in-home geriatric assessment service was able to contribute at least one relevant intervention for 81% of referred APS clients to collaboratively help mitigate elder mistreatment circumstances.

Language: en