Development of the Emergency Department Senior Abuse Identification - ED Senior AID tool

• NCJ Number: 251948
• Journal: Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2018 Pages: 247-270
• Author(s): Timothy F. Platts-Mills; Joseph A. Dayaa; Bryce B. Reeve; Kayla Krajick; Laura Mosqueda; Jason S. Haukoos; Mehul D. Patel; Carrie F. Mulford; Samuel A. McLean; Phil D. Sloane; Debbie Travers; Sheryl Zimmerman
• Date Published: April 2018
• Length: 24 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2015-IJ-CX-0022
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Test/Measurement; Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Development and Validation of a Screening Protocol to Identify Elder Abuse in United States Emergency Departments

Annotation

Since hospital emergency departments (EDs) are an important health care setting for the identification of elder abuse (EA), the objective of the project described in this article was to develop an ED-based tool to identify EA.

Abstract

The initial tool included a brief cognitive assessment, questions to detect multiple domains of EA, and a physical examination. Refinement of the tool was based on input from clinical experts and nurse and patient feedback. The revised tool, which included 15 questions about EA, was then tested in an academic ED. The inter-rater reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of individual EA questions was calculated. Among ED patients age=65 (N = 259), 17 (7 percent) screened positive for suspicion of EA. A combination of six questions that cover the included domains of EA were identified. They demonstrated good or excellent inter-rater reliability and had a sensitivity and specificity of 94 percent (95 percent confidence interval (CI) 71-100 percent) and 90 percent (95 percent CI 85-93 percent), respectively. These results inform a proposed screening tool for multisite validation testing. (Publisher abstract modified)