title: Elder Abuse Decision Support System: Field test outcomes, abuse measure validation, and lessons learned.
abstract: The Elder Abuse Decision Support System was designed to meet the critical need for improved methods for assessment and substantiation of elder mistreatment, using a web-based system with standardized measures. Six Illinois agencies participated in the field test. One-year pre/post analyses assessed substantiation results, using Illinois' standard investigation procedure as a comparison. Pre/post acceptability was assessed with caseworkers in focus groups with adult protective service staff. Validity of measures was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and receiver operator characteristic curve analyses with final substantiation decision as a criterion. Increased substantiation of abuse was found. Regarding acceptability, the two systems were found to have differing strengths and weaknesses. Outcome measures had high validity estimates, while focus groups indicated directions for improvement. This study was a successful proof of concept that data collected in the field would be useful for clinical purposes as well as for research.
authors.affiliation: a School of Public Health (Emeritus) , University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago , Illinois , USA.|b Chestnut Health Systems , Normal , Illinois , USA.
authors.forename: Kendon J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.affiliation: c Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine , Northwestern University , Chicago , Illinois , USA.
authors.forename: Madelyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iris
authors.affiliation: d Institute for Health and Aging , University of California, San Francisco , San Francisco , California , USA.
authors.forename: Pi-Ju
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D000075082:Proof of Concept Study
keywords: Adult protective services; decision support system; measurement; substantiation decision; user acceptability