Objectives: The purpose of this research was to learn about nursing home employees' knowledge and perspectives on mandatory reporting of elder abuse.
Design: Mailed questionnaire and personal interviews.
Setting: Two nursing facilities in Iowa.
Participants: All employees of the two nursing facilities.
Measurements: A 28-item questionnaire that included questions on demographics, personal experiences with suspected elder abuse and reporting, legislation, facility protocols, and opinions on mandatory reporting was mailed to participants. An interview composed of 11 open-ended questions was conducted in the nursing facilities.
Results: Forty-nine (15%) of the 335 employees who were sent the mailing returned the questionnaire and 22 (7%) participated in the interview. Over half (53%) of those who returned questionnaires reported suspecting a case of abuse in the facility where they currently work. Of these, 35% stated that they had not reported all the cases they suspected. Interviews of the 22 employees were about 15 minutes in length and took place at the nursing facility. Four themes emerged from these interviews, including the need for more staff education/training on the subject of elder abuse, difficulty in making judgments about whether the situation needs to be reported, barriers to reporting, and a sense that some abuse situations may occur because the staff is overworked, inexperienced, and/or frustrated from dealing with difficult residents.
Conclusion: Nursing home employees are knowledgeable about the mandatory reporter laws, but many remain hesitant to report suspected abuse for various reasons.