The Elder Justice Roadmap

REGION: RESEARCH
17. to evaluate the experience of older victims to assess how well victim safety is addressed, whether services are
coordinated and seamless, and whether offenders are held accountable in a consistent way (similar to safety
planning audits used in the domestic violence field).
27. systemic evaluation of existing laws and implementation practices to develop model laws and policy.
36. to test and develop a range of effective emergency and transitional housing and shelter options to better meet
older victims’needs.
48. better methods for investigating and measuring the prevalence of elder abuse in residential care facilities and
other non-nursing home settings.
52. to develop comprehensive, consistent definitions of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation to be used in
various contexts such as in laws, critical care, and services.
57. to collect and aggregate data about elder abuse cases that is comprehensive, consistent, accurate, current, and
available to the public.
78. to clearly define what constitutes successful outcomes in elder abuse interventions and prevention efforts.
4. ethicists and philosophers to partner with policymakers, researchers and practitioners in addressing ethical
issues that arise in elder abuse cases, including how best to balance autonomy and safety.
5. to translate the questions and dilemmas faced by practitioners into research that can assist them.
6. research into the long term (longitudinal) nature of elder abuse for victims and perpetrators, and contextual
factors (such as poverty or isolation) that can affect elder abuse.
20. research on the nexus between mental health and elder abuse, both for victims and perpetrators.
22. research the rates of and connections between abuse, neglect, and exploitation at home and in facilities, and
develop policy accordingly.
28. to research the impact and value of mandatory reporting.
39. research and policy regarding the role of diminished, variable, or questionable capacity in increasing the risk
of elder abuse.
43. research to identify perpetrator characteristics, including why they abuse and how to develop preventive
interventions.
49. research on elder abuse in different cultures (such as definitions, risk factors, interventions, prevention, and
prevalence) to inform policy and practice.
50. research to understand the causes of elder abuse and conceptual models that inform practice, such as greed,
power and control, and caregiver stress.
65. validated methods and instruments to collect data about elder abuse from various systems.
112. research regarding the relationship between self-neglect and elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
31 The Elder Justice Roadmap–Appendices