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BACKGROUND Previous research has identified several barriers faced by clinicians in detecting and reporting elder abuse, such as lack of knowledge about the process to report suspected cases of abuse and lack of access to experts to consult with. A novel intervention was designed and tested that embedded two Adult Protective Services (APS) specialists in a healthcare system operating primary care clinics serving a large Medicare population. OBJECTIVES To examine the types of roles the APS specialists played in the healthcare system and the number and types of cases of suspected abuse among older patients that clinicians consulted them about and reported to APS. DESIGN Cross‐sectional, exploratory study. SETTING Primary care clinics in five regions of Texas. PARTICIPANTS Older patients of primary care clinics. INTERVENTION APS specialists and project staff trained clinicians on how to identify and report abuse, neglect, and exploitation among older patients. The specialists were also available in person or by telephone and email to consult with clinicians about patients suspected of being abused by others or being self‐neglecting. MEASUREMENTS Data were obtained by conducting semistructured telephone interviews with APS specialists; and from APS specialistsʼ written documentation/notes of consultations with clinicians regarding suspicion of abuse among patients and whether a report to APS was warranted. RESULTS: The APS specialists trained clinicians on abuse, consulted with clinicians, and served as a liaison between the healthcare system and APS. During the project, clinicians reported 529 older patients to APS, and 386 patients received one or more services documented by APS at case closure. These cases involved 902 allegations of various types of abuse, of which the most common was self‐neglect (617 or 68%). CONCLUSION: Embedding APS specialists in a large healthcare system led to cliniciansʼ increased awareness of the importance of identifying and reporting elder abuse, particularly self‐neglect. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1748‐1754, 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online training for care managers to identify, report, and prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation was developed for a demonstration involving the dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid population. It was composed of three modules covering background, screening, and reporting abuse. Of 453 enrollees, 273 completed at least one module and 212 completed all three. Pre- and post-training surveys for each module were used to examine changes in the proportion of correct answers for each question, using the related-samples Cochran’s Q statistic. Improvements in knowledge from pre- to post-training were evident in modules covering background on abuse and reporting abuse, but not in the module about communication principles and screening for abuse. Its content may have already been familiar to the trainees, who were primarily social workers and nurses. Lessons learned are being used to adapt the training for a wider audience to increase public awareness of abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This is the first study to examine direct service worker turnover and its predictors across three provider types: nursing homes, home health agencies, and providers of services for the developmentally disabled. Stratified random sampling procedures were used to select provider types across five geographic regions in Ohio. Data were collected from administrative staff. Findings indicated that annual direct service worker turnover did not significantly vary by provider type (mean = 33%). Predictors of turnover related to job burnout, negative social support, and region. Policymakers can promote practices to lower direct service worker turnover such as addressing burnout and increasing support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Training and satisfaction with training were examined using data from nationally representative samples of 2,897 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) from the National Nursing Assistant Survey and 3,377 home health aides (HHAs) from the National Home Health Aide Survey conducted in 2004 and 2007, respectively. This article focuses on the commonalities and differences in the perceptions of CNAs and HHAs regarding the initial and continuing education they received to prepare them for their job. More than 80% of HHAs and all CNAs received some initial training. Of these, significantly more HHAs compared to CNAs felt that training had prepared them “very well” for their jobs. The two groups also differed in their assessments of the content of the initial training; for example, more CNAs believed that their training was “excellent” in helping them address patients' limitations in activities of daily living compared to HHAs. The vast majority of HHAs and CNAs received continuing education, and about three fourths in each group assessed this training as being “very useful.” In light of the increasing demands for HHAs and CNAs with the aging of America, findings from these national studies could be used to inform educational and training initiatives for this critical workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]