PHI Updates Curriculum to Prepare for Elder Abuse Awareness Day
PHI has updated its adult abuse prevention curriculum in advance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which will be recognized on June 15.
Launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is held annually to call attention to the millions of elders each year who are physically and emotionally abused, neglected, and exploited.
In May, PHI updated the skills-based Adult Abuse and Neglect Prevention (AANP) training, which was developed by the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging with a grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The curriculum is designed to teach everyone working in all long-term care settings and delivery options the skills necessary to prevent abuse and neglect. The update brings the curriculum into compliance with new laws concerning reporting abuse in the nation’s nursing homes.
An evaluation of the program by Michigan State University found that learners showed “dramatic gains in knowledge,” with more than 90 percent indicating that the curriculum improved their ability to recognize abuse and prevent potentially abusive situations from developing.
Additionally, 60 percent said that they used AANP prevention techniques while on the job, and nearly half (48 percent) said that they reported suspected abuse more often because of the AANP training.
The National Center on Elder Abuse, a federal resource center funded by the Administration on Aging, promotes the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day every year, providing an elder justice toolkit, outreach materials, and fact sheets on its website.
— by Matthew Ozga
