Özet:

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate health care workers’ awareness and perception of elderly abuse. Material and Methods: Participants were asked socio-demographic data that include age, gender, years of experiences, the clinic that s/he worked. Then, the research data were collected by using a form that included socio-demographic data (age, gender, years of experiences, the clinic that she/he worked). An open-ended six questions form was applied. It includes the number of the elderly who applied to the unit where they worked, whether they heard the concept of abuse of the elderly, if they heard, where they heard, the types of abuse they knew, whether they had encountered an elderly abuse case before and whether they had any intervention. Results: 71 healthcare workers participated in the study. Their average age is 34.16 years, and they consist of 32.4% women and 67.6%. 5.6% of the healthcare professionals were professors and associate professors, 38% were specialists, 14.4% were assistant doctors, and 15.5% were nurses. 69% (n = 49) of the participants stated that they had heard the concept of abuse of the elderly before. Asking what the types of abuse he knows, other than physical abuse, the participants answered emotional abuse the most (59.15%). When we look at the rate of encountering elderly abuse cases in our study, 32.4% of the participants said “yes”. When we asked if they intervened, %65 of the participants said “no.” Conclusions: Healthcare professionals who play a major role in defining, management, and intervention of elder abuse and neglect, should be provided with comprehensive training on the recognition, intervention, and reporting. 

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