
ERIC Number: EJ725214
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Dec-1
Pages: 4
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0016-9013
EISSN: N/A
The Prevalence of Undiagnosed Geriatric Health Conditions among Adult Protective Service Clients
Heath, John M.; Brown, Merle; Kobylarz, Fred A.; Castano, Susan
Gerontologist, v45 n6 p820 Dec 2005
Purpose: We sought to determine the prevalence of remediable health conditions from in-home geriatric assessments of referred adult protective service (APS) clients suffering elder mistreatment. Design and Methods: We used a retrospective cohort study of 211 APS clients (74% female; age, M = 77 years) in two central New Jersey counties. Results: Dementia was the most frequent diagnosis (62% prevalence) and was positively correlated with occurrences of financial exploitation (R = .199; p = .01) and caregiver neglect (R = .174; p = .03) among female APS clients. Depression (37% prevalence), hypertension (36%), involuntary weight loss (34%), pain (32%), and falling (26%) all appeared equally distributed, though urinary incontinence (23% prevalence) was strongly correlated with circumstances of caregiver neglect (R = .31; p = .003). Implications: This new effort to link APS workers with geriatric clinicians conducting in-home health assessments proved effective for identifying a high prevalence of remediable health conditions among APS clients suffering various manifestations of elder mistreatment.
Descriptors: Dementia, Incidence, Caregivers, Geriatrics, Depression (Psychology), Health Conditions, Elder Abuse
Gerontological Society of America, 1030 15th Street, NW, Suite 250, Washington, DC 20005-1503. Web site: http://www.gerontologyjournals.org.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Jersey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A