Critical Issues in Dental Education
Dental Students’ Knowledge About Elder
Abuse and Neglect and the Reporting
Responsibilities of Dentists
Melanie W. Gironda, M.S.W., Ph.D.; Karen H. Lefever, Ph.D.;
Elizabeth A. Anderson, M.S.W., M.P.H.
Abstract: Dentists are in a unique position to detect elder abuse and neglect. Approximately 75 percent of all physical domes-tic violence results in injuries to the head, neck, and/or mouth area, clearly visible to the dental team during examinations and treatment. The goal of this project was to gather a comprehensive understanding of predoctoral dental students’ perceptions of the culture of abuse and neglect and their level of fluency regarding their rights and responsibilities as mandated reporters. This article aims to inform dental educators of dental students’ level of awareness of elder abuse and neglect in order to highlight content areas to be addressed in dental school curricula and clinical training. A twenty-four-item survey was administered to 291 predoctoral dental students at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry. The results are organized into three general areas: prior training and education; perceptions of the culture of abuse and neglect; and knowledge of mandated reporter legal responsibilities and protections. Overall, this study found that most students do not feel adequately trained to report a case of elder abuse. Data from this study suggest that dental students need education on the psychosocial aspects of older adulthood, as well as training in detecting and reporting elder abuse.
Dr. Gironda is Adjunct Associate Professor, Division of Public Health and Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles; Dr. Lefever is Curriculum Coordinator, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles; and Ms. Anderson is a Graduate Student, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles. Direct correspondence and requests for reprints to Dr. Melanie Gironda, Division of Public Health and Community Dentistry, UCLA School of Dentist-ry, Box 951668, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095; 310-825-6544 phone; 310-206-2688 fax; [email protected].
Keywords: elder abuse, dentists as mandated reporters, neglect detection, dental education
Submitted for publication 11/10/09; accepted 2/12/10
A
ccording to The National Elder Abuse Inci-dence Study, for every reported case of elder abuse, neglect, exploitation, or self-neglect there are approximately five cases that are not re-ported.1 Elder abuse and neglect (EAN) is definedas intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm (whether or not it is intended) to an adult over sixty-five years of age by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trusted relationship to the elder.2 Abuse reports can come from the victims
themselves, caregivers, or mandated reporters. In California, mandated reporter responsibilities in-clude the reporting of elder abuse and neglect. One such group of mandated reporters—dental profes-sionals—often do not see themselves as responsible for addressing abuse and neglect in their patient population over sixty-five years of age.3,4 However,
dentists are in a unique position to detect elder abuse and neglect because approximately 75 percent of all physical domestic violence results in injuries to the
head, neck, and/or mouth area, which are clearly visible to the dental team during examination and treatment.5
While dental professional groups are giving more attention to the area of domestic violence and child abuse,6 EAN receives, by contrast, relatively
little attention. For example, elder abuse is allocated only one of thirty pages in a manual produced by the California Dental Association Foundation for its dental professionals’ mandated reporting responsi-bilities training program.7 Additionally, the American
College of Dentists’ Ethics Handbook for Dentists
makes no mention of elder abuse, though it provides an overview of child abuse.8
Among dentists, rates of detecting and report-ing elder abuse and neglect are low. In a survey of 407 dentists, only 7 percent reported having suspected a case of elder abuse, and only 1 percent had filed a report.3 In another survey of 321 dentists, 87 percent
violence.4 A potential influence on practitioners’ low
detection and reporting rates is the lack of direct instruction of students during predoctoral training programs. “Psychosocial problems” are listed as part of the geriatric dentistry curriculum in many U.S. dental schools; however, no specific content related to elder abuse and neglect is evident.9
In an effort to address issues of EAN across diverse professions, the Archstone Foundation launched an Elder Abuse and Neglect Initiative and issued an open call for proposals in 2005. A project at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry was funded under the Educa-tion and Training for Mandated Reporters funding category. The goal of phase one of the project was to gain a comprehensive understanding of predoctoral dental students’ preparatory training in gerontol-ogy and detection of elder abuse and neglect; their perceptions of the culture of abuse and neglect; and their level of confidence regarding their rights and responsibilities as mandated reporters. This article aims to inform dental educators about these students’ level of awareness of elder abuse and neglect in order to highlight EAN-related content areas of the highest need to be addressed in dental school curricula and clinical training.
Methods
An Institutional Review Board-approved twenty-four-item paper and pencil survey, requiring approximately ten minutes to complete, was admin-istered to predoctoral dental students at the UCLA School of Dentistry. The survey included items re-lated to students’ knowledge of mandated reporting rights and responsibilities, as well as their knowledge of the culture of abuse and neglect.
A review of the literature informed the de-velopment and selection of survey items. The2004 Survey of State Adult Protective Services in Kentucky provided data on rates of abuse and profiles of per-petrators.10 Findings from research on the reporting
of abuse in Iowa nursing homes informed the two opinion questions.11 The questions in our survey
regarding legal responsibilities of mandated report-ers in California are anchored in a report sponsored by the California Dental Association Foundation,
Dental Professionals Against Violence.6 Our survey
included yes/no and true/unsure/false questions to profile students’ academic training in gerontology
and elder abuse; past experience with suspecting and reporting elder abuse; understanding of the culture of abuse and neglect; and level of fluency in their legal responsibilities, rights, and protections as mandated reporters. Survey items were reviewed for relevance and accuracy by experts in the fields of adult protec-tive services, elder abuse forensics, and geriatrics.
Students were administered the survey in a large lecture auditorium before the start of a required course for which attendance was mandatory. Before taking the survey, students were presented with a letter describing the project and informing them that their participation was voluntary and anonymous and all data would be analyzed in aggregate. Univariate and bivariate analysis of the survey data was done using SPSS, version 16.
Data were gathered from 291 UCLA School of Dentistry students who were surveyed during the fall quarters of 2006, 2007, and 2008. Specifically, data were collected from fifty-four second-year students from the graduating class of 2009, seventy-eight first-year students from the graduating class of 2010, eighty first-year students from the graduating class of 2011, and seventy-nine first-year students from the graduating class of 2012.
UCLA School of Dentistry students are a di-verse group, representing a variety of racial/ethnic and cultural/religious groups. Specific class years are split fairly evenly by gender, and ages range from twenty to thirty-five years of age. The majority of the students come from the southern California area, as well as from Utah, Arizona, and other western states. Most entering predoctoral students have undergradu-ate degrees in life and physical sciences; less than 10 percent of the students enter dental school with degrees in the liberal arts.
Findings
The findings are presented in three themes: students’ prior training; perceptions of the culture of abuse and neglect; and knowledge of mandated reporter responsibilities and protections. Response rates for the classes of 2010, 2011, and 2012 were 90 percent since they were surveyed in one of their first classes of dental school. The response rate for the class of 2009 was lower (62 percent) because they were surveyed during their second year of dental school when class attendance tends to be lower than in the first year.
Prior Training and Education
As shown in Table 1, the students’ prior train-ing or education about the issue of EAN was mini-mal. Prior completion of a gerontology course was reported by 2.7 percent of responding students, and prior completion of an undergraduate course that discussed elder abuse was reported by 3.8 percent. Slightly more students (6.9 percent) reported re-ceiving specialized training on elder abuse prior to enrolling at UCLA School of Dentistry. Regarding past experiences with suspected and reported elder abuse, 4.8 percent of responding students said they had suspected elder abuse. Six of the students sur-veyed were involved in reporting a case of abuse in general, and one answered yes to reporting a case of elder abuse. Overall, only 8.1 percent of responding students indicated that if they had to report a case
of elder abuse today, they would feel adequately trained to do so.
Perceptions of Culture of Elder
Abuse and Neglect
Overall, responding students showed a mixed level of knowledge of the culture of elder abuse and neglect (see Table 2). A majority of students (66.6 percent) answered false to the statement “Abuse and neglect of older adults are rare” (Q9), and 84.1 percent answered false to the statement “Mistreat-ment in later life only happens to people who are very frail” (Q12).
To gauge students’ general perception of the issue of elder abuse, the survey included two opin-ion statements. The first was “Most abused elderly persons are able to get help if they need it” (Q11), to Table 1. Prior training and experience in geriatrics and elder abuse reported by dental students in study, by percentage and number of respondents
Yes
Survey Question % (n)
Q2. Did you ever take an undergraduate course in geriatrics or gerontology? 2.7% (8) Q3. Did you ever take an undergraduate course that discussed elder abuse? 3.8% (11) Q4. Have you ever received training on elder abuse? 6.9% (20) Q5. Have you ever suspected a case of elder abuse? 4.8% (14) Q6. Have you ever reported a case of abuse? 2.1% (6) Q7. Have you ever reported a case of elder abuse? 0.3% (1) Q8. If you had to report a case of elder abuse today, do you feel adequately trained to do so? 8.1% (22)
Notes: Question 1 of the twenty-four-item survey asked for current year in dental school for tracking purposes. Total N in study=291; N for each question varied from 270 to 291 responses.
Table 2. Dental students’ perceptions of the culture of elder abuse and neglect, by percentage and number of respondents
True Unsure False Survey Question % (n) % (n) % (n) Q9. Abuse and neglect of older adults are rare. 3.4% (10) 30.0% (87) 66.6% (193) Q11. Most abused elderly persons are able to get help if they need it. 5.9% (17) 33.9% (98) 60.2% (174) Q12. Mistreatment in later life only happens to people who are very frail. 1.0% (3) 14.9% (43) 84.1% (243) Q13. Older adults who live with grown offspring or other caregivers are more 42.1% (122) 47.2% (137) 10.7% (31)
likely to be abused than those who live with a spouse.
Q14. Some cultures are “immune” to abuse; they always respect their older 13.1% (38) 25.9% (75) 61.0% (177) members.
Q15. Sometimes an older person chooses to be abused or neglected by staying 34.5% (100) 30.7% (89) 34.8% (101) in an abusive relationship.
Q16. Women are more likely to be the person responsible for neglect and 18.5% (53) 56.1% (161) 25.4% (73) financial abuse.
Q17. Most abuse of older adults occurs in nursing homes. 18.0% (51) 57.0% (162) 25.0% (71) Q18. Most abuse in later life involves stressed families giving care. 29.9% (85) 58.8% (167) 11.3% (32)
which the majority of students indicated false (60.2 percent), 33.9 percent were unsure, and 5.9 percent responded the statement was true. On the second opinion question, “Some cultures are ‘immune’ to abuse; they always respect their older members” (Q14), students answered as follows: 13.1 percent true, 25.9 percent unsure, and 61.0 percent false.
Answers regarding the perpetrators of abuse varied. Just over 47 percent of responding students answered unsure to the statement “Older adults who live with grown offspring or other caregivers are more likely to be abused than those who live with a spouse” (Q13). Students were split approximately in thirds (true, unsure, false) regarding the statement “Sometimes an older person chooses to be abused or neglected by staying in an abusive relationship” (Q15). In response to the statement “Women are more likely to be the person responsible for neglect and fi-nancial abuse” (Q16), 56.1 percent indicated unsure, and 25.4 percent indicated false. Approximately 75 percent of students answered either true (18.0 per-cent) or unsure (57.0 perper-cent) to the statement “Most abuse of older adults occurs in nursing homes” (Q17). In response to the statement “Most abuse in later life involves stressed families giving care” (Q18), 29.9 percent of responding students indicated true.
Knowledge of Mandated Reporter
Legal Responsibilities and
Protections
Dental students’ level of fluency in their legal responsibilities, rights, and protections as mandated reporters varied greatly (see Table 3). Approximately
87.9 percent of responding students indicated true to the statement “Health care providers in California have a legal responsibility to report elder abuse” (Q10). Slightly fewer (75.7 percent) indicated the following statement as true: “All mandated report-ers must report actual or suspected abuse” (Q19). In terms of protections offered to mandated reporters when they do file a report and the legal consequences of not reporting, approximately 68.0 percent of students indicated they were unsure if mandated reporters are protected from civil liability (Q20), and 70.8 percent were unsure if mandated reporters are protected from criminal liability (Q21), which is true in both cases. Likewise, 51.4 percent of students were unsure if unreported elder abuse or neglect could lead to a misdemeanor on their record (Q22). Finally, 50.0 percent of responding students were unsure if reports are made both by phone and written report (Q23), and 45.8 percent indicated that anonymity is guaranteed to a health care provider when reporting abuse (Q24).
Discussion
The results from this survey study provide an assessment of dental students’ exposure to formal education on older adulthood and training in EAN. These data highlight students’ level of awareness about the culture of abuse and neglect as well as the legal responsibilities of mandated reporters and indi-cate areas to prioritize in addressing knowledge gaps during the predoctoral dental curriculum. Most dental students in our study did not have prior instruction in general issues of aging or any training in identifying and responding to elder abuse. It may be that since
Table 3. Dental students’ knowledge of mandated reporter legal responsibilities and protections, by percentage and number of respondents
True Unsure False Survey Question % (n) % (n) % (n) Q10. Health care providers in California have a legal responsibility to report 87.9% (254) 11.4% (33) 0.7% (2)
elder abuse.
Q19. All mandated reporters must report actual or suspected abuse. 75.7% (215) 21.5% (61) 2.8% (8) Q20. Mandated reporters are not protected from civil liability. 7.0% (20) 68.0% (193) 25.0% (71) Q21. Mandated reporters are protected from criminal liability. 20.8% (59) 70.8% (201) 8.5% (24) Q22. Mandated reporters who fail to report actual or suspected abuse can be 44.7% (127) 51.4% (146) 3.9% (11)
charged with a misdemeanor.
Q23. Reports are made both by telephone and in writing. 47.9% (136) 50.0% (142) 2.1% (6) Q24. Anonymity will be guaranteed to any health care provider who reports 45.8% (130) 51.1% (145) 3.2% (9)
elder abuse.
the majority of predoctoral students majored in the life and physical sciences, they had little opportunity to study the sociocultural issues and factors that contribute to abuse and neglect. In any case, the find-ings of this study suggest that students enter dental training without the knowledge necessary to respond to the demographic changes that are occurring in their clinic and community patient populations. As dental students treat an increasing population of older adults, the potential for encountering cases of elder abuse and neglect, especially self-neglect, increases. To effectively care for this population, students need a predoctoral curriculum that includes a biopsycho-social framework offering them a comprehensive model for understanding aging and the elements in older adults’ intra- and interpersonal environments.
Regarding legal responsibilities of mandated reporters of EAN, student responses show a great deal of uncertainty about the reporting process itself, the protections they are guaranteed as mandated reporters, and the potential consequences of failing to report. Over two-thirds of all responding students were unsure if mandated reporters are protected from civil and criminal liability, which is true in both cases in California, and half of the students were unsure if a failure to report elder abuse or neglect could lead to a misdemeanor on their record, which is also a real consequence in California. Less than 10 percent of the students felt adequately trained to report a case of elder abuse. Even among those who felt adequately trained (Q8), less than half knew that mandated reporters are protected from civil liability, and less than a quarter knew that mandated report-ers are protected from criminal liability. Similarly, among those who indicated some type of training by answering “yes” to survey questions 2, 3, or 4, only a third knew that mandated reporters are protected from civil liability, and less than a quarter knew that mandated reporters are protected from criminal liability. These findings suggest that coursework focusing on aging must include information on the legal aspects of reporting suspected abuse and neglect as well as the opportunities for students to become familiar with the protocols to report abuse and neglect to appropriate authorities. Courses on regulation of dental practice should also address these knowledge areas to ensure that students are equipped with the necessary legal information to direct their ethical decision making process as both students and future professionals.
Elder Abuse in the Dental
Curriculum
Information from this survey informed the development of four curriculum units addressing elder abuse and neglect as a topic in ethics, culture and health, regulation of dental practice, and com-munication at UCLA. These curriculum units are part of the Professionalism and Doctoring and the Growth, Development, and Aging curriculum tracks and consist of the following: Ethical Dilemmas of Reporting Elder Abuse and Neglect, for first-year students; Cultural Dimension of Elder Abuse and Neglect, for second-year students; Regulations as Mandated Reporters in California, for third-year students; and Talking about Elder Abuse with Patients and Caregivers, for second- and third-year students. There are several benefits in creating educa-tional units that can be inserted across the dental school curriculum. First, units integrated into existing courses ensure that all dental students, regardless of their specific interests within dentistry, are exposed to issues of aging in general and elder abuse and neglect in particular. If EAN content were offered only as an elective, the information would reach only students interested in geriatrics. Second, units allow for the presentation of specific subtopics within EAN when they are most relevant. For example, the ethics unit focuses on the dilemma of divulging a patient’s confidential information in order to provide for his or her safety. Similarly, the unit on reporting EAN emphasizes professional responsibility in reporting protocols within the context of the overall regula-tion of dental practice. Third, in contrast to a single comprehensive lecture on EAN, revisiting the ideas and concepts of elder abuse over three years creates an integrated perspective on the complex biopsycho-social issues of EAN.
Dental educators and researchers are beginning to insert the topic of EAN into the curriculum of dental health professionals in specific geographical areas, dictated primarily by state reporting laws.12
As of 2000, dentists are mandated reporters in twenty-nine states, including California, and there-fore have a vested interest in understanding issues of elder mistreatment. In five other states, reporting is encouraged; however, in these and the remaining sixteen states, there is no legal mandate for dentists to report elder abuse.13
The demographic shift in American society towards an older public brings with it the need to undertake institutional change in the culture of dental education. Data from this study indicate that dental students need education on the psychosocial aspects of older adulthood and training in detecting and reporting elder abuse. Sensitizing dental students to the biopsychosocial complexities of older adulthood, as well as elder abuse and neglect, prepares them to detect and respond when older adult patients need highly trained advocates to act on their behalf.14
With sufficient education and training, future dental professionals can assume a higher profile position among the cadre of health care providers who serve as mandated reporters of elder abuse and neglect.
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