The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day happens each year on June 15th and represents the one day in the year when the community raises the attention on the abuse and suffering inflicted to some of our older generations, a group claiming for attention during these pandemic times and beyond.
Doubtless, older people face additional vulnerabilities at this time. The virus has not just threatened their lives, it has also affected their social networks, their access to health services, their jobs and their wellbeing.
Save project brings together a strategic partnership of 6 organisations from 5 Erasmus+ countries namely Poland, Italy, Finland, Portugal and Cyprus to promote the early identification of abuse as a key factor to prevent violence and reduce risk of future health impacts resulting from violence.
USING SCREENING TOOLS FOR IDENTIFICATION IS HELPFUL TO SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS TO RECOGNIZE AND ASSESS VIOLENCE AND NEGLECT OF OLDER PERSONS, HOWEVER THE USE OF SCREENING TOOLS IS STILL RARE ACROSS EU.
SAVE project partners want to celebrate this day by making sure elderly people are included in the society, as protagonists and professionals act together to challenge elder abuse in health and social care settings through the provision of a comprehensive screening programme.
A systematic review of the literature (see the Abstract here) was conducted within the Project SAVE. It found thirty-seven screening instruments cited in the literature, of which eight were tested in research. A few well-established assessment tools were identified (HS-EAST, VASS and EASI) and are available for use in the practice setting.
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