Trends in Reporting of Abuse and Neglect to Long Term Care Ombudsmen: Data from the National Ombudsman Reporting System from 2006 to 2013

Elizabeth M Bloemen; Tony Rosen; Sunday Clark; Denis Nash; Thelma J Mielenz

doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2015.03.002

Trends in Reporting of Abuse and Neglect to Long Term Care Ombudsmen: Data from the National Ombudsman Reporting System from 2006 to 2013

Geriatr Nurs. 2015 Jul-Aug;36(4):281-3. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2015.03.002. Epub 2015 Apr 30.

Authors

Elizabeth M Bloemen¹, Tony Rosen², Sunday Clark³, Denis Nash⁴, Thelma J Mielenz⁵

Affiliations

¹ Division of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, 525 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065, USA; Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, 525 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: elb3003@med.cornell.edu.
² Division of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, 525 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: aer2006@med.cornell.edu.
³ Division of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, 525 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065, USA.
⁴ Hunter College, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA.
⁵ Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA.

PMID: 25936894
DOI: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2015.03.002

Abstract

We utilized the National Ombudsman Reporting System (NORS) to describe national trends in reporting of abuse and neglect in nursing facilities to long term care ombudsmen (LTCO) from 2006 to 2013. We investigated complaints made against facility staff or residents with the following codes: physical abuse, verbal/mental abuse, sexual abuse, financial exploitation, gross neglect, and resident to resident physical or sexual abuse. Nationally, LTCO received an annual average of 11,749 abuse and neglect-related complaints in nursing homes from 2006 to 2013. These complaints trended down significantly, from 7.5 to 5.6 reports per 1000 beds (P < 0.0001). Physical abuse by a non-resident was the most frequently reported, representing an average of 28% of total abuse/neglect complaints. Improved understanding of the reasons for declines in reporting, increased training on other types of abuse and neglect, and expansion of the NORS database to allow for more comprehensive analysis are needed.

Keywords: Abuse, neglect, and exploitation; Long term care ombudsman; Nursing home.

MeSH terms

Aged, 80 and over
Elder Abuse / statistics & numerical data
Elder Abuse / trends*
Humans
Long-Term Care*
Nursing Homes
Patient Advocacy*
Sex Offenses