ArticleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2022
Vulnerable Elder Protection Team: Initial experience of an emergency department-based interdisciplinary elder abuse program.
Article in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Screening and Interventions for Elder Mistreatment: Geriatric Emergency Department Guidelines 2.0 Systematic Review.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of interventions to prevent abuse in people living with dementia in community settings: A systematic review.Dementia (London, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Caregiver Neglect in Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: Characteristics and Themes From a Large Registry of Cases.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2026Article
- Development of a risk assessment model for elder abuse vulnerability among ethnic minority older adults in Hunan, China: a cross-sectional study.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Long-Term Trajectories of Older Adults Served by an Emergency Department/Hospital-Based Elder Mistreatment Response Program.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025Article
- Growing injury threats to longevity in the older population: American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Prevention Committee topical update.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2025Review
- Emergency Department and Hospital Utilization Among Older Adults Before and After Identification of Elder Mistreatment.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Expanding the role of interdisciplinary teams in the emergency department: Using a consultative model to serve older adults who are abused.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2022Article
- Strategies for dissemination of ED/hospital elder mistreatment response team model.Journal of elder abuse & neglectArticle
- Elder abuse geriatrics: describing an important new medical specialist.Journal of elder abuse & neglectArticle
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Abstract
backgroundAn emergency department (ED) visit provides a unique opportunity to identify elder abuse and initiate intervention, but emergency providers rarely do. To address this, we developed the Vulnerable Elder Protection Team (VEPT), an ED-based interdisciplinary consultation service. We describe our initial experience in the first two years after the program launch.
methodsWe launched VEPT in a large, urban, academic ED/hospital. From 4/3/17 to 4/2/19, we tracked VEPT activations, including patient characteristics, assessment, and interventions. We compared VEPT activations to frequency of elder abuse identification in the ED before VEPT launch. We examined outcomes for patients evaluated by VEPT, including change in living situation at discharge. We assessed ED providers' experiences with VEPT via written surveys and focus groups.
resultsDuring the program's initial two years, VEPT was activated and provided consultation/care to 200 ED patients. Cases included physical abuse (59%), neglect (56%), financial exploitation (32%), verbal/emotional/psychological abuse (25%), and sexual abuse (2%). Sixty-two percent of patients assessed were determined by VEPT to have high or moderate suspicion for elder abuse. Seventy-five percent of these patients had a change in living/housing situation or were discharged with new or additional home services, with 14% discharged to an elder abuse shelter, 39% to a different living/housing situation, and 22% with new or additional home services. ED providers reported that VEPT made them more likely to consider/assess for elder abuse and recognized the value of the expertise and guidance VEPT provided. Ninety-four percent reported believing that there is merit in establishing a VEPT Program in other EDs.
conclusionVEPT was frequently activated and many patients were discharged with changes in living situation and/or additional home services, which may improve safety. Future research is needed to examine longer-term outcomes.
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