Adaptation and validation of the Screening Questionnaire for Family Abuse of the Elderly in the sociocultural context of Colombia

In Colombia, like many countries in the world, due to the increase in population of elderly people, mistreatment has increased, which has physical, psychological and social consequences for the individual and major repercussions on society. The detection of abuse is a complex task, among other aspects, due to the concealment of victims and the lack of valid, reliable detection instruments that are in keeping with the sociocultural context. Professionals responsible for dealing with these situations must have an instrument that allows early detection. The objective of this study was to adapt and validate the Family Abuse Screening Questionnaire for Elderly People in Colombia. A cross-sectional study with mixed methods was carried out in two stages from 2017 to 2018. In the first stage, linguistic and semantic adaptation was carried out using translation, synthesis, back translation, expert analysis and pilot testing with 30 abused and non-abused elderly people. In the second stage, the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were obtained by means of an exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's Alpha, using STATA 13. In the results, we provided a Socially and Culturally Adapted Family Abuse Screening Questionnaire for elderly people in Colombia with a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.82, sensitivity value of 86.9% (p < 0.05) and a specificity value of 84% (p < 0.05), detecting abuse with 4 or more positive responses to abuse. The application of the screening questionnaire by health and social services professionals will prevent further damage to social and physical health in the elderly people in Colombia, as well as reduce the costs of care in institutions.

Mediational Role of Self-efficacy between Selected Bio-psychosocial Factors and Elder Self-Neglect among Community-Dwelling Older Malaysian Adults

Elder abuse and neglect have been reported as significant public health and societal problem in many different societies across the world. In Malaysia, older adults recorded a high prevalence of neglect compared to other types of elder abuse. There is a dearth of empirical work on elder self-neglect (ESN) among the older population in Malaysia. This paper aims to explore the mediational role of self-efficacy on the relationship between selected biopsychosocial factors and ESN among community-living older adults in Selangor, Malaysia. This study utilized a cross-sectional survey to gather data from a representative sample of 202 older adults from Selangor. A newly developed scale of 16-items of elder self-neglect (ESN) was used in this study. The results showed that self-efficacy partially mediated the association between ADL, IADL, depression, and capacity of self-care on ESN. Self-efficacy also fully mediated the association between neuroticism, life satisfaction, social network, and education on ESN. These findings provided a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of self-neglect among older Malaysian adults. The results will also serve as a useful reference for professionals and policymakers to develop uniform guidelines, protocols, or programs to handle cases of elder self-neglect in the community.

Development and validation of a Screening Questionnaire of Family Mistreatment against Older Adults for use in primary care settings in Mexico

The abuse of older adults is a serious public health issue that can be difficult to identify at the first level of care. Medical and nursing personnel are sometimes unable to identify older adults who suffer family mistreatment. This can occur when victims feel shame or as a result of cultural factors. In the light of this, healthcare personnel require a screening tool that can be used to identify signs of mistreatment. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a screening tool for detecting the familial mistreatment of older adults in primary care settings. A mixed method cross-sectional study was carried out in three phases between 2009 and 2012 in Mexico. The formative phase involved using a qualitative methodology to identify terms that older adults use to identify practices defined as forms of mistreatment. On this basis, the second phase involved the design of a screening tool through the formation of items in collaboration with a panel of experts. These items were tested on older adults to ensure their intelligibility. Finally, validity and reliability levels were evaluated through the application of the screening tool to a sample of older adults at a primary care facility and at a legal centre. These findings were discussed with gerontologists, and the data were analysed through an exploratory factor analysis with orthogonal rotation and Cronbach's alpha using STATA v13. From the results, we generated a screening tool that is culturally and socially tailored to older adults in Mexico. The tool has a Cronbach's alpha of 0.89, a sensitivity value of 86% (p < .05) and a specificity value of 90% (p < .05) for positive answers to the tool's 15 items. Applying this tool at the first level of care could limit damage to older adults' health and could lower the frequency of emergency room use in hospitals.