Association of knowledge of adult protective services legislation with rates of reporting of abuse in Iowa nursing homes.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if there is an association between abuse reporting to state authorities by nursing home administrators and directors of nursing and their characteristics and knowledge of the law.


METHODS
Survey.


METHODS
Iowa's 409 Medicare certified nursing homes.


METHODS
Four hundred nine administrators and 409 directors of nursing.


METHODS
Nursing home abuse incidents, reports, and substantiations, Medicare's Nursing Home Compare Reports, Urban Influence Codes, and county census demographics.


RESULTS
A single or double response was received from 369 (90%) of the 409 nursing homes. Being a male administrator and having a higher level of education is associated with higher substantiation rates. A greater knowledge of the dependent adult protective services law is associated with higher incident and report rates for directors of nursing.


CONCLUSIONS
Nursing home administrators' and directors of nursing's knowledge of the law and their characteristics are associated with nursing home incident, report, and substantiation of abuse allegations.
Daly
Jeanette M
JM
Department of Family Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. jeanette-daly@uiowa.edu
Jogerst
Gerald J
GJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004522:Educational Status; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006270:Health Facility Administrators / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000193:education; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009745:Nursing, Supervisory; D011361:Professional Competence