title: Elder mistreatment: priorities for consideration by the white house conference on aging.
abstract: Elder mistreatment is recognized internationally as a prevalent and growing problem, meriting the attention of policymakers, practitioners, and the general public. Studies have demonstrated that elder mistreatment is sufficiently widespread to be a major public health concern and that it leads to a range of negative physical, psychological, and financial outcomes. This article provides an overview of key issues related to the prevention and treatment of elder mistreatment, focusing on initiatives that can be addressed by the White House Conference on Aging. We review research on the extent of mistreatment and its consequences. We then propose 3 challenges in preventing and treating elder mistreatment that relate to improving research knowledge, creating a comprehensive service system, and developing effective policy. Under each challenge, examples are provided of promising initiatives that can be taken to eliminate mistreatment. To inform the recommendations, we employed recent data from the Elder Justice Roadmap Project, in which 750 stakeholders in the field of elder mistreatment were surveyed regarding research and policy priorities.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. kap6@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pillemer
authors.affiliation: 2 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Marie-Therese
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Connolly
authors.affiliation: 3 Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Risa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Breckman
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spreng
authors.affiliation: 3 Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lachs
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D019548:Crime Victims; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011640:Public Policy; D012931:Social Environment; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*
keywords: Abuse/neglect; Crime; Organizational and Institutional issues; Public Policy