A Study on the Evaluation of Shelters for Elderly Abuse Victims Using AHP

This study aimed to present the most appropriate shelter model for the abused elderly by investigating the current operation regulations and the status of shelters for the abused elderly in Korea. We analyzed the interviews of shelter staff as well as the elderly who had experiences with the shelters based on the qualitative and survey data from 17 shelters. We derived four models, including ‘Independent Shelter Based on Case Management’, ‘Consignment Shelter Based on Case Management’, ‘Independent Shelter Based on Caring’, and ‘Consignment Shelter Based on Caring’. Furthermore, in order to determine the most suitable model, we used the AHP technique to ask 15 experts who had worked or studied on the abused elderly to evaluate the four shelter models by effectiveness, efficiency, expertise, practicability, and overall. Finally, the ‘Consignment Shelter Based on Case Management’ model was selected as the most proper model. This study is meaningful in clarifying the characteristics of a shelter for the abused elderly and structuring systematically the functions to be performed.