Johanna Simmons

Older adults may be abused by a partner, adult children or other close relatives, but also by health and social care staff. This may involve physical, emotional, sexual or financial abuse, as well as neglect. Experiences of abuse are strongly associated with poor health. In addition, dependence on others to manage activities of daily living and living with dementia are strong risk factors for abuse. Despite this, patients’ experiences of abuse are often unknown to healthcare providers, and many healthcare providers report not knowing what to do if a patient disclose exposure to abuse.

I use both qualitative and quantitative research methods, and the shared long-term goal of all my research is to identify strategies to improve societal support and assistance for older people exposed to abuse, and to prevent abuse from occurring in the first place. In particular, healthcare services and services for older adults need to strengthen their response to abuse of older people.

I am the principal investigator of the projects REAGERA (Responding to Elder Abuse in GERiAtric care) and APPEAL (A Path to Prevention of Elder Abuse in Long-term care). REAGERA investigates abuse of older people in general, with a particular focus on people living with dementia and their family members. Questionnaires that can be used to identify abuse of older adults have been validated, and the effects of training healthcare professionals about abuse have been investigated. In APPEAL, abuse of older people who receive home care services or live in residential long-term care facilities is explored from the perspective of both older adults themselves, relatives and staff. In addition, co-creation research methods are used to develop ways of preventing abuse of older people in residential care settings.