International Workshop PurFam 2 & 3 December 2010 20.12.2010
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International Workshop
Potentials and risk factors of family caregiving
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An international workshop on protective and risk factors of family care was organised by the University of Cologne and the Catholic College of Sozialwesen Berlin on 2 and 3 December 2010 in Berlin. Research scientists and practitioners from Japan, Israel, USA, Austria, Netherlands and Germany were invited to present their experiences and results with projects on informal care, and elder abuse within the informal care situation. Maria van Bavel (senior advisor elder abuse, MOVISIE) presented some results considering elder abuse in the informal care setting of the EuROPEAN project during this meeting.
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The aim of the workshop was to discuss the training-program of PurFam. PurFam is a project in Germany and focused on improving the prevention of elder abuse by facilitating the early recognition of mistreatment and neglect in individual caregiving settings and by strengthening caregivers’ resources. Workshop participants were asked to discuss the proposed program respective to their expertise in international best-practice approaches and aspects of feasibility within the national context of the Federal Republic of Germany.
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Professor Dr. Toshio Tatara from Japan held a plea for developing specific models of elder abuse, and not to merely use the usual models of domestic violence. One of the few countries in the world which has specific legislation concerning elder abuse is Japan.
According to Prof. Tatara the implementation of this law is not so simple or easy. There are too few resources for this implementation, for example, to organise training for social workers.
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Miro Cohen from Israel told about a screening instrument to reduce the risk of elder abuse by family caregivers.
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Lisa Nerenberg from California, United States, pointed out that derailed informal care is not always caused by overload. It also has to do with generational domestic violence, alcohol use by or a mental illness of the caregiver.
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Kathrin Rauchert from Germany presented the needs of nurses in order to prevent elder abuse by caregivers. Her study pointed out that nurses need information about signals, support options and legal possibilities and tools to talk about the abuse with the victim and the caregiver.
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Prof. Dr. Gisela Zenz from Germany, held a plea for more legislation to combat elder abuse. She indicated that legislation not always has to do with prosecution, but also can contribute to the protection of the elderly. She emphasized that addressing elder abuse is an issue of Human Rights.
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The PurFam project has already conducted interviews with experts, and developed a screening instrument and a roadmap after a presumption of elder abuse by a caregiver. The project officers will now develop training for professionals, who have to deal with family caregivers.
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In short: a lot of experiences, many results and recognizable problems and ways to solve these problems were exchanged. All participants were enthusiastic about the workshop. The participants agreed that awareness of risk factors and signs of elder abuse and making use of protective factors is of great importance in prevention to combat elder abuse.