Elder abuse and neglect among veterans in Greater Los Angeles: prevalence, types, and intervention outcomes

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence, types, and intervention outcomes of elder abuse/neglect among a veteran population. A review of medical records of 575 veterans who had received services from the Veteran's Affairs Geriatric Outpatient Clinic in Los Angeles during a three-year period found 31 veterans (5.4%) who had an elder abuse report filed on their behalf. Prevalence of elder abuse/neglect was higher among older (80+) and Caucasian and African American veterans. Eight of 31 victims suffered from more than one type of elder abuse including self-neglect. Financial abuse and self-neglect were the most commonly reported types. Family members were perpetrators in the majority of the cases, excluding self-neglect. However, three-quarters of financial abuse cases were committed by non-family members. Almost one-half of the victims had dementia and eight were clinically depressed. The most common intervention was to move victims from their unsafe home into a nursing home or board and care facility, followed by conservatorship arrangement. These interventions were most frequently used for victims with dementia, and conservatorship was often arranged with another type of intervention, such as a move to a nursing home. Victims who remained at home received conservatorship or outside supportive services or a combination of both. This study calls for more comprehensive and systematic research on elder abuse/neglect at multi-settings in order to generate useful information for prevention and detection of, and effective intervention in elder abuse and neglect in the veteran population.