Understanding and Predicting Elder Abuse Response Capabilities: Insights from Singapore's Community Care Professionals.

Abstract

Elder abuse is a significant global issue, with health and social care professionals playing a crucial role in its detection and management. This cross-sectional study quantitatively surveyed 291 community care professionals in Singapore, recruited through convenience sampling. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing their capabilities (knowledge, attitudes, and confidence) and the barriers and enablers influencing their ability to address elder abuse. Findings revealed significant gaps: 27.7% felt knowledgeable about elder abuse, 25.4% reported positive attitudes, and 57.7% expressed confidence in managing such cases. Over half of respondents reported no prior training and a lack of workplace guidelines. Key barriers included victims' or families' denial or reluctance to seek help. Univariate analyses identified significant associations (p < .05) between professionals' capabilities and factors such as occupation, education, training, guidelines, citizenship, ethnicity, and work experience. Multivariable logistic regression highlighted occupation, education, prior training, and the presence of guidelines as significant predictors (p < .05) of enhanced capabilities. Respondents emphasized the need for comprehensive training, clear protocols, shared community responsibility, targeted interventions for service users, and increased systemic support. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions for service users, interventions to strengthen professionals' ability to address elder abuse effectively.