Identifying Injury Patterns Associated With Physical Elder Abuse: Analysis of Legally Adjudicated Cases.

Study Objective: Elder abuse is common and has serious health consequences but is underrecognized by health care providers. An important reason for this is difficulty in distinguishing between elder abuse and unintentional trauma. Our goal was to identify injury patterns associated with physical elder abuse in comparison with those of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with unintentional falls.

Emergency Medical Services Perspectives on Identifying and Reporting Victims of Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Self-Neglect.

Background: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers, who perform initial assessments of ill and injured patients, often in a patient's home, are uniquely positioned to identify potential victims of elder abuse, neglect, or self-neglect. Despite this, few organized programs exist to ensure that EMS concerns are communicated to or further investigated by other health care providers, social workers, or the authorities.

Objective: To explore attitudes and self-reported practices of EMS providers surrounding identification and reporting of elder mistreatment.

Introductory Emergency Medicine Clinical Skills Course: A Daylong Course Introducing Preclinical Medical Students to the Role of First Responders.

Introduction: A complete medical school curriculum must include an introduction to first aid; the management of airway, breathing, and circulation; and basic medical emergencies. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York underscored the need for such training for US students even in their preclinical years. During that tragedy, many Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) preclinical students were eager to volunteer at Ground Zero and in the emergency department, yet it was clear they were not prepared for even basic medical emergencies this early in their training.

Describing visible acute injuries: development of a comprehensive taxonomy for research and practice.

Background: Little literature exists classifying and comprehensively describing intentional and unintentional acute injuries, which would be valuable for research and practice. In preparation for a study of injury patterns in elder abuse, our goal was to develop a comprehensive taxonomy of relevant types and characteristics of visible acute injuries and evaluate it in geriatric patients.

Methods: We conducted an exhaustive review of the medical and forensic literature focusing on injury types, descriptions, patterns and analyses.

Imaging Findings in Elder Abuse: A Role for Radiologists in Detection.

Purpose: Emergency department assessment represents a critical but often missed opportunity to identify elder abuse, which is common and has serious consequences. Among emergency care providers, diagnostic radiologists are optimally positioned to raise suspicion for mistreatment when reviewing imaging of geriatric injury victims. However, little literature exists describing relevant injury patterns, and most radiologists currently receive neither formal nor informal training in elder abuse identification.