Prevalence and nature of resident-to-resident abuse incidents in Australian residential aged care.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of resident-to-resident abuse (RRA) in aged care facilities and to explore the nature, contributing factors and outcomes of abuse incidents.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of residents in 13 aged care facilities between 1 January and 31 December 2017, using data extracted from organisational incident reports.

Results: A total of 169 RRA incidents were recorded, representing 0.56 incidents per 1000 bed days. 7.6% of residents were targets, and 6.9% exhibited aggression, in one or more RRA incidents over one year. In the majority of incidents (152, 89.9%), the aggressor had a cognitive impairment. Impacts on targets were mostly minor. The most common aggressor intervention was behaviour management (142; 84.0%).

Conclusions: Resident-to-resident abuse was found to be lower than in other reports. Typically, it involves residents with cognitive impairment and does not result in serious harm. Managing behavioural symptoms associated with cognitive impairment is critical in preventing and managing RRA.