ADAPTING ELDER MISTREATMENT SCREENING FOR HOME-BASED PRIMARY CARE: THE DETECT-RPC PROJECT

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

Elder mistreatment in home-based primary care is often underrecognized and underreported, despite clinicians caring for highly vulnerable older adults, including those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The DETECT-RPC Project adapts a previously validated EMT-based elder mistreatment screening tool for HBPC clinicians. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Abuse Intervention Model, it addresses clinician uncertainty, concerns about mandatory reporting, and limited training. DETECT-RPC builds an HBPC-integrated screening tool, develops training, and conducts a cluster randomized controlled trial.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background and rationale

Project approach and theory guidance

Intervention development and training

Evaluation plan and expected impact

Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 27 Abstract citation ID: igaf122.090 ADAPTING ELDER MISTREATMENT SCREENING FOR HOME-BASED PRIMARY CARE: THE DETECT-RPC PROJECT Michael Cannell1, Kristin Lees Haggerty2, Jason Burnett3, Melvin Livingston4, and Carolyn Pickering3, 1. TCU, Fort Worth, Texas, United States, 2. Education Development Center, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States, 3. UTHealth Houston, Houston, Texas, United States, 4. Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States Elder mistreatment (EM) is underrecognized and underreported in home-based primary care (HBPC) settings, where clinicians often serve highly vulnerable older adults, including those with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) . The Detection of Elder Mistreatment Through Emergency Care Technicians – Revised for Primary Care (DETECT-RPC) Project adapts a previously validated EMT-based EM screening tool for HBPC clinicians. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Abuse Intervention Model (AIM), DETECT-RPC seeks to overcome key barriers to EM screening, including clinician uncertainty about EM recognition, concerns about mandatory reporting, and lack of training. Through an intervention mapping process, we developed the DETECT-RPC screening tool to integrate into HBPC workflows and designed a training program to enhance clinician knowledge and confidence in identifying and responding to EM. We are currently conducting a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate DETECT-RPC’s impact on screening and APS reporting behaviors among HBPC clinicians. This presentation will highlight findings from our formative research, the intervention development process, and early insights from clinician training and survey responses measuring attitudes 28 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 and beliefs about EM reporting. Discussion will focus on implementation challenges, clinician concerns about APS involvement, and strategies for adapting EM screening tools to non-acute care settings. By addressing these barriers, DETECT-RPC aims to improve the identification and response to EM in home-based settings, providing a scalable model for EM screening beyond emergency and hospital-based care.

FAQs

Why is elder mistreatment underrecognized in home-based primary care?

Clinicians serving highly vulnerable older adults often lack adequate recognition and reporting, leading to underrecognition and underreporting of elder mistreatment in home-based primary care settings.

What is the DETECT-RPC Project adapting and for whom?

DETECT-RPC adapts a previously validated EMT-based elder mistreatment screening tool so HBPC clinicians can use it within home-based primary care workflows.

How does DETECT-RPC address barriers to screening and reporting?

It targets clinician uncertainty about recognizing elder mistreatment, concerns about mandatory reporting, and lack of training by using a structured intervention mapping process and providing a dedicated training program.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob