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Measuring Elder Abuse in Canada – Canadian Prevalence Study

Themes: Co researcher

PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER:

Lynn McDonald, University of Toronto

RESEARCH TEAM:

Marie Beaulieu, University of Sherbrooke

Gloria Gutman, Simon Fraser University

Sandi Hirst, University of Calgary

Ariela Lowenstein, University of Haifa

Cynthia Thomas, Westat, Washington D.C.

CHAIR PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT:

Audrey Allard, master’s student and research assistant

GRANTING AGENCY AND GRANT AMOUNT:

Employment and Social Development Canada, New Horizons for Seniors program: 750 000$

PROJECT COMPLETION DATES:

April 2012 to March 2015

ROLE OF CHAIR IN THE PROJECT:

The Chairholder participates to all the steps of the project. She has accepted the special responsibility to ensure the quality of the translations from English to French, with the help of Audrey Allard, research assistant. Moreover, she is working in close collaboration with the government of Québec, who invested a sum of money in the study with the goal of oversampling in Québec. By doing so, there is more participants in Québec, which increases the overall sensitivity of the study and allowing to plan specific analysis to our province.

RESEARCH PROBLEM:

The last prevalence study of the mistreatment of older Canadians occurred in 1989 that found an overall prevalence rate of 4% of community dwelling adults in Canada (Podniecks et al., 1990). The proposed new survey is based on previous research, Defining and Measuring Elder Abuse and Neglect – Preparatory Work Required to Measure the Prevalence of Abuse and Neglect of Older Adults in Canada, (HRSDC, 2010). This past project developed conceptual and operational definitions of physical, psychological, sexual and financial abuse and neglect of older adults in French and English Canada who lived in the community.

The basic survey will fill a critical gap by providing an overall general prevalence rate and specific rates for the main types of abuse and neglect in Canada. Those provinces that wish to do further analyses can over sample cases for their provinces.

GOAL OF THE PROJECT OR RESEARCH QUESTION:

The main goal of this study is to build on this significant research and field a national prevalence study in Canada with sufficient representation from each province in Canada.

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of the proposed project are to provide quantitative data on the prevalence, risk factors, and causes of mistreatment of older Canadians in the general population.

MEHODOLOGY:

The sampling will include older adults, aged 55 years and older, living in private dwellings in Canada and will be conducted by telephone interviews that will draw a random sample using random digital dialing. The types of abuse that occurred within the last 12 months to be captured by the data are physical, sexual, psychological, and financial abuse and neglect perpetrated by informal caregivers.

PROJECT ADVANCEMENT:

The last validations of the French data collection tools are almost completed (only 3 small precisions are pending). The data collection has started and should continue until April of 2015. 1300 of the 8100 interviews are completed. The data collection for Québec started in the spring of 2015 and will continue until August of 2015. The statistical analyses of data from Québec will start in the autumn of 2015.

COMMUNICATIONS:

McDonald, L. (October 21, 2016). The National Study of Elder Abuse in Canada. Presented at the 45th Annual Scientific and Educational Meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology (CAG). Montréal, Québec (Canada).

McDonald, L. (May 26, 2016). Into the light: Results from the Canadian prevalence study on elder abuse. Annual Knowledge Exchange of the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE). Toronto, Ontario (Canada).

PUBLICATIONS:

N.a.