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The UK study of abuse and Neglect of Older People: 342,000 Older People face abuse at home

The two year Study into the extent of abuse and neglect of older people in the UK was launched at a Press Conference in London on 14 June 2007.  Funded by the Department of Health and Comic Relief at the request of AEA, the report reveals the full extent of abuse and provides a previously unseen picture of the nature of that abuse.  The event was addressed by Ivan Lewis, the Minister for Care Services, and Gary FitzGerald CE of AEA.  To coincide with the launch AEA hosted information sessions and press briefings in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff to provide our perspective on the details of the Report. 

Since that time we have been asked to provide an analysis of the Report, and what we see as the key issues.  This can be obtained by clicking here, (although this paper should of course be read in conjunction with the Report itself).  

Elder Abuse: The UK Study of the Abuse and Neglect of Older People

Background to the Survey:

Following AEA's submission to the Health Select Committee in 2003/04, we proposed to Comic Relief that the single most important contribution they could make to elder abuse would be to fund a prevalence study.  In our view, the absence of reliable national knowledge about prevalence continually hampered efforts to raise the profile of the issue.  This had been a key recommendation of the Health Select Committee Inquiry into elder abuse (House of Commons Health Committee, 2004b, page 13).  We simultaneously put forward a similar proposal to the Department of Health and this resulted in a jointly funded piece of research between the Department and Comic Relief.  AEA maintained a watching brief/supportive role throughout the evolution of the project.

Who undertook the work:

King’s College London is in the top group of universities for research earnings with income from grants and contracts of more than £101 million (2004-05) and has an annual turnover of £364 million.  King’s is a member of the Russell Group, a coalition of the UK 's major research-based universities.  Twenty-four of the College’s subject-areas were awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality in the last research assessment exercise, demonstrating excellence at an international level.  (website)

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is the largest independent social research institute in Britain . NatCen has an international reputation for conducting high quality social surveys and has become the UK 's leading centre for qualitative research on social issues. They carry out research into all areas of social policy, including health, crime, education, employment, travel, social attitudes and families, and undertake the annual National Health Survey on behalf of the Department of Health.  (website)

The Survey itself:

The survey determines, for the first time ever, the extent of elder abuse within the private homes of older people, including the types of abuse, and the nature of victims and of abusers.  It has both UK and International implications and will inform social policy development across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. 

Download:

The Prevalence Report itself.

Below you can obtain a copy of the full Prevalence Report, with relevant appendices.  Before doing so however we could encourage you to download a copy of our analysis of the document, and what we would recommend to be the key issues.  Taken together, these will give you a comprehensive overview of elder abuse within the UK.

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