Pilot testing the detection of elder abuse through emergency care technicians (DETECT) screening tool: results from the DETECT pilot project

ABSTRACTObjective: To pilot test the feasibility of implementing an elder abuse (EA) screening tool (DETECT) designed for medics.Methods: Testing occurred between September 17th, 2015 and October 26th, 2015. MedStar Mobile Healthcare medics completed the DETECT tool when responding to calls for community-dwelling patients 65 years of age or older.Results: The DETECT tool was used 1,248 times by 97% of medics responding to an eligible 911 call. Medics responded affirmatively to at least one screening item on 209 of the completed screenings (16.8%). Immediately following the introduction of the DETECT tool, there was an increase of 5.4 (226% above baseline) reports per month (p = 0.0056).Conclusions: The DETECT tool was easily incorporated into medic’s field-based practice and resulted in an increase in medic generated reports of EA to APS. Future research designed to evaluate the tool’s validity and reliability are warranted.