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. 2023 Oct 13;13(10):e071694.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071694.

Initial steps in addressing the challenges of elder mistreatment evaluation: Protocol for evaluating the Vulnerable Elder Protection Team

Daniel Baek  1 , Alyssa Elman  1 , Elaine Gottesman  1 , Amy Shaw  2 , Lena K Makaroun  3   4 , Michael E Stern  1 , Mary R Mulcare  1 , Michelle Sullivan  1 , Chloe Pino  1 , Jennine McAuley  1 , Veronica M LoFaso  2 , E-Shien Chang  2 , David Hancock  1 , Elizabeth M Bloemen  5 , Sarah Tietz  5 , Daniel M Lindberg  6 , Rahul Sharma  1 , Sunday Clark  1 , Mark S Lachs  2 , Karl Pillemer  7 , Tony Rosen  8
Affiliations

Initial steps in addressing the challenges of elder mistreatment evaluation: Protocol for evaluating the Vulnerable Elder Protection Team

Daniel Baek et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: Although many programmes have been developed to address elder mistreatment, high-quality, rigorous evaluations to assess their impact are lacking. This is partly due to challenges in conducting programme evaluation for such a complex phenomenon. We describe here the development of a protocol to mitigate these challenges and rigorously evaluate a first-of-its-kind emergency department/hospital-based elder mistreatment intervention, the Vulnerable Elder Protection Team (VEPT).

Methods and analysis: We used a multistep process to develop an evaluation protocol for VEPT: (1) creation of a logic model to describe programme activities and relevant short-term and long-term outcomes, (2) operationalisation of these outcome measures, (3) development of a combined outcome and (4) design of a protocol using telephone follow-up at multiple time points to obtain information about older adults served by VEPT. This protocol, which is informing an ongoing evaluation of VEPT, may help researchers and health system leaders design evaluations for similar elder mistreatment programmes.

Ethics and dissemination: This project has been reviewed and approved by the Weill Cornell Medicine Institutional Review Board, protocol #20-02021422. We aim to disseminate our results in peer-reviewed journals at national and international conferences and among interested patient groups and the public.

Keywords: ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY MEDICINE; GERIATRIC MEDICINE; Protocols & guidelines.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Challenges in designing and conducting evaluations of elder mistreatment (EM) programmes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
VEPT logic model. ED, emergency department; VEPT, Vulnerable Elder Protection Team. *complete, detailed list of Activities (assessments, interventions, referrals) included as Online Supplemental Material
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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