Staff perceptions of elder abuse.

AIMS: The aims of this study were to ascertain perceptions of elder abuse among nurses and care assistants who worked in long-term care settings and whether staff had been educated on elder abuse. METHOD: A quantitative descriptive co-relational design was used. Questionnaires were completed by 66 nurses and 48 care assistants in three long-term care settings in southern Ireland. RESULTS: Thirty nine (59 per cent) nurses and 25 (52 per cent) care assistants were confident about recognising elder abuse. Nevertheless, there was a high level of uncertainty about what constituted elder abuse. CONCLUSION: Uncertainty about what constitutes elder abuse may be a barrier to its detection and management. Nurses and care staff working with older people must be able to identify abusive situations and be confident that managers will support them to address the uncertainty surrounding this complex phenomenon.