Assessment tools for elder abuse: scoping review

Abstract

Objective: to map assessment tools for elder abuse and determine the psychometric properties of each one. Method: scoping review developed according to recommendations of the JBI Institute Reviewer’s Manual in databases and gray literature. Results: seventeen tools were identified for measuring situations of elder abuse. They were categorized into 1) Tools for assessment of risk for abuse, and 2) Tools for identification of abuse. According to risk for abuse, Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale was the most prevalent in the literature, with factorial analysis acceptable through four domains, and good internal reliability (0,74). Therefore, Assessment Tool for Domestic Elder Abuse comprises the assessment of six types of elder abuse; however, the study shows psychometric limitation since the internal structure was not evaluated by validity evidences. Conclusion: seventeen tools to determine the occurrence or risk for elder abuse were identified with different psychometric properties. We recommend the use of more than one of the tools identified for an appropriate measurement of elder abuse situations given the complexity of the phenomenon and the lack of a single instrument that contemplates all its consequences and forms of expression.