New resources to tackle elder abuse
1 min read 02 February 2023
Peter Mac’s Academic Nursing Unit has led a ground-breaking study into elder abuse to inform a suite of brand-new resources for healthcare professionals.
The resources, codesigned with consumers and Peter Mac Staff, will be used to train staff to identify when a patient may be suffering elder abuse – and how to have a sensitive conversation to offer support and access to services.
“Many doctors and nurses described intuitively sensing something was wrong, but they described a lack of knowledge and confidence to intervene,” Principal Investigator Professor Mei Krishnasamy says.
“These new resources deliver scenarios based on real-life examples so our staff they can see first-hand how to broach the subject and offer confidential support to the patient.”
The scripts for the videos were co-written with Peter Mac staff – and you’ll see a few familiar faces with Senior Nurse Amruta Nandi and Dr Brian Kelly appearing.
The videos cover financial and emotional abuse plus there’s an informative explainer on elder abuse voiced by Consumer Advisor Peter Gourlay which will appear on Peter Mac’s Cancer School.
The resources will be rolled out over the coming months in professional development sessions, with plans to share with other health services in the future.
Peter Mac would like to thank the entire team on their hard work in bringing these resources to life – and to the 19 patient/carer and 18 health professional participants of the REASON study who informed them.
Project Team
- Principal Investigator - Prof Mei Krishnasamy
- Project Officers - Catherine McMutrie and Catherine Devereux
- Consumer advisor - Peter Gourlay
- Project team members - Geri MacDonald, Catherine Ludbrook, Kirsty Sams, Jackie D’Abaco and from the University of Melbourne, Professor Lynette Joubert.