The Relationship between Nurses’ Recognition Regarding Elder Abuse and their Attitudes and Performance in Dealing with Elder Abuse Induced by Iranian Family Caregivers

Knowledge of nurses regarding elder abuse can be helpful in decisions about on-time and appropriate interventions. Our aim was to assess the relationship between recognition of nursing staff toward elder abuse and their attitudes, and performance in dealing with elder abuse induced by Iranian family caregivers.

In this descriptive study, 400 nurses were selected, using cluster sampling, from nurses working in public or private hospitals in Iran. Data collection was performed using questionnaires measuring elder abuse symptom recognition, attitudes, and performance.

There is a significant relationship between the total scores for recognition of symptoms and elder abuse potential risk factors (p=0.05) and the nurses’ attitudes and performance scores (p = 0.001). There was no significant difference between the nurses’ performance and recognition scores (p = 0.14).

Interventions to promote nurses’ recognition via in-service educational programs can improve nurses’ performance in different levels of abuse prevention and the quality of nursing care for the elderly.