Produced as part of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, this database aims to develop a portfolio of effective approaches to prevent and respond to the abuse of older people. The database contains 89 promising interventions identified through a rigorous search and screening of nearly 14 000 scientific studies.
The aims of these interventions include:
- improving knowledge of abuse of older people among professionals to increase the likelihood of detection and reporting;
- raising awareness of the issue;
- reducing mental health symptoms among victims of abuse;
- preventing abuse.
Older people who have experienced or are at risk of abuse were the main targets of these interventions, although a significant proportion were also aimed at caregivers, perpetrators of abuse and institutions.
More than half of the identified interventions were implemented in the United States of America, which emphasizes the need to conduct more research in low- and middle-income countries. The new database is a rich repository of evidence-based interventions to address abuse of older people that can inform future research and practice in the field by governments, international organisations, civil society organisations, academics, practitioners, and funders.
The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing will build on this database by further evaluating these interventions for refinement, adaptation and real-world testing.
