ArticleBMC geriatrics2026
Digital health in elder abuse: a scoping review and conceptual model.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe global population is aging rapidly. With this demographic shift, a growing number of older adults are living with chronic conditions and geriatric syndromes, increasing their vulnerability to abuse and neglect. Elder abuse thus represents a critical yet under recognized public health challenge that undermines the dignity, health, and quality of life of older adults. Digital health technologies including mobile health, telemedicine, artificial intelligence (AI), serious games, and virtual reality (VR) offer innovative pathways for prevention, early detection, and management.
objectiveThis study aimed to identify and classify existing digital health applications in the context of elder abuse and to develop a conceptual model illustrating their roles.
methodsA scoping review following PRISMA-ScR guidelines was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and IEEE databases to retrieve studies related to digital interventions addressing elder abuse. The findings were synthesized into thematic domains. On the basis of these results, a conceptual model was developed and validated by experts in psychiatry, geriatric, and digital health to ensure both clinical and technological relevance.
resultsTwenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. The digital health applications were categorized into six domains: (1) medical and geriatric education, (2) prevention, (3) screening, (4) diagnosis, (5) treatment and intervention, and (6) forensic and legal support. Serious games and VR were used mainly for education and awareness, mHealth for prevention and screening, and AI-driven tools for diagnostic and forensic purposes. The experts emphasized combining immersive VR features with gamification to enhance engagement and learning outcomes.
conclusionThe proposed conceptual model systematically integrates core clinical needs with appropriate digital health modalities and maps technologies to key domains, including prevention, screening, and social support. Informed by literature synthesis and expert perspectives, the model provides a structured model to guide future research on digital health interventions in elder abuse.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.