Reducing Repeat Incidents of Elder Abuse: Results of a Randomized Experiment, Final Report

• NCJ Number: 189086
• Author(s): Robert C. Davis; Juan Medina; Nancy Avitabile
• Date Published: January 2000
• Length: 56 pages
• Grant Number(s): 95-IJ-CX-0061
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

This report presents the methodology and findings of a study that examined the effectiveness of various interventions intended to reduce repeat incidents of the abuse of elderly persons.

Abstract

A total of 403 residents of public housing who reported an incident of elder abuse to the police were randomly assigned to receive or not to receive two interventions designed to reduce the incidence of repeat abuse. Participants either received or did not receive a home visit from a team of a police officer and social worker. Also, housing projects either were or were not targeted to received educational materials about elder abuse. Results indicate that the interventions had no effect on victims' knowledge of elder abuse issues, upon their knowledge or use of social services, or upon their psychological well-being; however, in households that received both public education and home-visit interventions, victims were also more likely to report new instances of abuse both to police and to research interviewers. Victims who received only a home visit were more likely to report new instances of abuse to the police, but not to research interviewers. 5 tables and 46 references