IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/hin/jnlnrp/716407.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sexual Abuse of Older Residents in Nursing Homes: A Focus Group Interview of Nursing Home Staff

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Helen Iversen
  • Astrid Kilvik
  • Wenche Malmedal

Abstract

The objective of this study was to increase knowledge of sexual abuse against older residents in nursing homes. A qualitative approach was used. Through a focus group interview with staff in nursing homes, the aim was to reveal employees’ thoughts, experiences, and attitudes. Findings from the focus group interview show that sexual abuse of older residents is a taboo topic among health professionals. Acts of sexual abuse are difficult to imagine; it is hard to believe that it occurs. The fact that staff are not aware that it could happen, or have a hard time believing that it actually happens, can amplify the residents’ vulnerable position as potential victims of abuse, and it makes it even more challenging to report or uncover such acts. The study highlights the need for education of all health care workers in Norway as well as more research on sexual abuse against older residents in nursing homes. Furthermore, there is a need for good policies and reporting systems, as an important step towards addressing sexual abuse of the aged in a more appropriate way. Further research must aim to reveal more about this taboo area.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Helen Iversen & Astrid Kilvik & Wenche Malmedal, 2015. "Sexual Abuse of Older Residents in Nursing Homes: A Focus Group Interview of Nursing Home Staff," Nursing Research and Practice, Hindawi, vol. 2015, pages 1-6, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:hin:jnlnrp:716407
    DOI: 10.1155/2015/716407
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/NRP/2015/716407.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/NRP/2015/716407.xml
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1155/2015/716407?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wenche Malmedal & Maria Helen Iversen & Astrid Kilvik, 2015. "Sexual Abuse of Older Nursing Home Residents: A Literature Review," Nursing Research and Practice, Hindawi, vol. 2015, pages 1-7, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      More about this item

      Statistics

      Access and download statistics

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hin:jnlnrp:716407. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Mohamed Abdelhakeem (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.hindawi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.