Elder Abuse and the Public's Health

Presents an insightful, interdisciplinary approach for preventing elder abuse

Encompassing the contributions of leading scholars in public health and gerontology, this is a rich repository of key ideas, concepts and issues regarding elder abuse and the role of public health initiatives in its prevention. The text frames elder abuse as a public health problem, stressing that efforts toward prevention is well within the scope of work performed by public health professionals. It describes major public policy/public health initiatives as they relate to elder abuse, analyzes elder abuse as a global and human rights issue, and supports the development of core competencies for public health work to prevent elder abuse.

The text describes in detail major theoretical and applied issues within elder abuse and grounds these issues within the core functions and essential services of public health. It then addresses skill development using the core competencies for public health professionals. The book is the first to tie the core functions and essential public health services to core public health competency domains and creates a topic-specific framework for effective public health practice. An annotated section includes the most up-to-date resources for both public health and elder abuse, including toolkits, stakeholder lists, and references. A discussion of future directions for the field sets the agenda for a committed interdisciplinary approach to ameliorating and preventing elder abuse.

Key Features:

• Grounds elder abuse prevention within the core functions and essential services of public health
• Provides a storehouse of scientific and practical information on elder abuse
• Stresses skill development using core competencies for public health professionals
• Encompasses the contributions of outstanding leaders in public health and gerontology
• Includes news stories, illustrative case examples, resources, blogs, and webinars

Pamela B. Teaster, PhD, is the Associate Director of the Center for Gerontology and a Professor in the Department of Human Development at Virginia Tech. She is the Secretary General of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and is on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Guardianship Certification.

Jeffrey E. Hall, PhD, MSPH, CPH, serves as Deputy Associate Director for Science in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE).