Managing elder abuse in Ireland: senior case workers' experiences

Abstract

As the proportion of older people continues to increase in many countries worldwide, there has been growing global recognition of the problem of elder abuse and an emergent international body of research into the abuse of older people. In Ireland, several initiatives have been introduced in recent years as part of a national response strategy to elder abuse. Arising out of recommendations made in a report by the Working Group on Elder Abuse entitled Protecting Our Future (2002), one such development adopted to tackle this problem was the establishment in 2007 of a dedicated elder abuse service for those who have been affected by abuse. This specialist service is delivered by qualified social workers, known as senior case workers (SCWs), who assess and manage cases of suspected elder abuse referred to the HSE. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study on the SCWs’ experiences of investigating, assessing and managing cases of elder abuse. The findings provide an insight into SCWs’ perspectives and experiences in dealing with elder abuse cases, in particular the challenges and dilemmas they face in responding to complex cases and how these are overcome. The study provides a greater understanding of current practices adopted in the management of elder abuse cases and aims to identify factors which play a central role in good practice relating to elder abuse. This paper will discuss the implications of the findings and outline the priorities identified for future service development and provision for elder abuse.

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