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Dion S, Gogia K, Elman A, Clark S, Ulrey P, Connolly MT, Lewis S, LoFaso VM, Lachs MS, Wartell J, Rosen T. Developing a rigorous, systematic methodology to identify and categorize elder mistreatment in criminal justice data. J Elder Abuse Negl 2020; 32:27-45. [PMID: 32151210 DOI: 10.1080/08946566.2020.1733725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Elder mistreatment is complex, with cases typically requiring integrated responses from social services, medicine, civil law, and criminal justice. Only limited research exists describing elder mistreatment prosecution and its impact. Researchers have not yet examined administrative prosecutorial data to explore mistreatment response, and no standardized analytic approach exists. We developed a rigorous, systematic methodologic approach to identify elder mistreatment cases in prosecutorial data from cases of crimes against victims aged ≥60. To do so, we operationalized elements of the accepted definition of elder mistreatment, including expectation of trust and vulnerability. We also designed an approach to categorize elder mistreatment cases, using the types of charges filed, into: financial exploitation, physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal/emotional/psychological abuse, and neglect. This standardized methodological approach to identify and categorize elder mistreatment cases in prosecution data is an important preliminary step in analyzing this potentially untapped source of useful information about mistreatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Dion
- College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Kriti Gogia
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
| | - Alyssa Elman
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
| | - Sunday Clark
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
| | - Page Ulrey
- Economic Crimes Unit, King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Marie-Therese Connolly
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Stuart Lewis
- School of Medicine, New York University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Veronica M LoFaso
- Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
| | - Mark S Lachs
- Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
| | - Julie Wartell
- Department of Urban Studies and Planning, University of California, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Tony Rosen
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
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