A study of the awareness of elderly abuse in emergency department

24^th Global Nursing & Healthcare

March 01-02, 2017 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Yuki Ohtsuyama and Midori Kuniyoshi

Hokkaido University of Science, Japan
Ryukyu University, Japan

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

The population of the elderly is increasing quickly in Japan. The possibility of encountering elderly abuse may affect the ability of nurses to discover elderly abuse within the emergency department. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence nurse�s awareness of elderly abuse within the emergency department. The study consisted of 323 nurses who work in the emergency department in Okinawa, Japan, including isolated islands. The subjects were asked about their basic attributes and qualifications, their history and training regarding awareness of elderly abuse, as well as their knowledge on prevention of elderly abuse. Using the logistic regression analysis, nurse identification of elderly abuse was correlated with the experience of nursing the elderly abuse (OR:47.71, 95%CI=2.73-8.09, p<0.001), prior study of elderly abuse (OR:2.31, 95%CI=1.27-4.18, p=0.01), and gerontological nursing (OR:1.60, 95%CI=1.00-2.56, p=0.05), physical abuse (OR:1.80, 95%CI=1.04-3.10, p=0.03) and neglect (OR:1.78, 95%CI=1.12-2.28 , p=0.01). The nurse�s awareness of elderly abuse was set as an independent variable. The study concluded that direct experience working with elderly patients enhanced nurses� ability to recognize the signs of abuse. The results of the study may lead to a recommendation for increased hands on training for nurses in recognizing the signs and symptoms of abuse. The use of better equipment to identify and diagnose abuse related injuries through educations and training on the act on prevention of elderly abuse will need to be used. To enhance the quality of elderly nursing within the emergency department, continuation of gerontological nursing is also needed.

Biography :

Yuki Ohtsuyama is an Assistant Researcher, has worked for many years in Clinical Environments. Her research interest is on “Elderly abuse and how it can be better identified by nurses”. After completing Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 2008, she started clinical work with patients as RN in a surgical ward specializing in Respiratory Medicine, Orthopedic and Gastrointestinal Surgery. She continued work as a nurse both in an emergency room and in a nursing home while working to complete her MSN. She completed her Graduation with a specialization in Gerontology in 2014. Currently, she is an Assistant Researchers at Hokkaido University of Science.

Email: otsuyama-y@hus.ac.jp