Despite the escalating prevalence of abuse against older adults in Canada, which is estimated between 8% -10%, there is a low rate of disclosure and reporting, so cases of abuse are rarely detected. According to research, approximately 1 – 24 cases are reported to authorities.
As disclosing and reporting abuse are key to accessing appropriate services, understanding the barriers and facilitators of disclosure for older adults living in the community is imperative. This webinar sheds light on why older adults do not seek help in cases of abuse through demonstrating three levels of barriers: individual, interpersonal, and systemic that impede on disclosures.
Based on research interviews with older adults with lived experience of abuse and service providers working directly with older adults in Alberta, the presenters will provide a case study and highlight the key themes that emerged from their study:
(1) Barriers to disclosure and reporting of abuse;
(2) Facilitators to disclosure and reporting; and
(3) Key tensions between service providers’ and older adults’ perceptions of the disclosure and reporting process.
They will also provide recommendations and action steps to increase awareness, promote disclosure, and improve services for older adults experiencing abuse.
Register Here: https://eapon.ca/ReportingEA_Webinar
Webinar provided with an ASL Interpreter
Speakers
Christine A. Walsh
Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary
Christine A. Walsh is a professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. In her community-based, action-oriented, and arts-informed research, she partners with community-based agencies to understand the lives of individuals who are impacted by interpersonal violence, poverty, housing insecurity and homelessness, and social isolation/exclusion. Her research centres the voices of marginalized populations, including older adults experiencing violence. Christine aims to create the necessary knowledge base to inform policy and program development to improve the health and social well-being of vulnerable members of society.
Kerstin Roger, Phd
Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences University of Manitoba
Kerstin Roger, PhD. (Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba). Social science research focuses on the family, caregiving, aging and end of life; global health and wellness across the lifespan, including abuse of older adults; and chronicity and interface with health care systems.
Dr. Roger has been a Principal Investigator on multi-site nationally funded mixed methods and qualitative research (e.g. CIHR, PHAC, SSHRC,Movember, PrairieAction), as well as conducting federal, provincial and regionally funded research. She has worked on international collaborations, local not-for-profit community initiatives, and continues to co-author and engage graduate students in her research.