Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T04:18:21.574Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A cross-cultural study of nursing aides’ attitudes to elder abuse in nursing homes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2011

Miri Cohen  and
Shiri Shinan-Altman
Miri Cohen*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel Department of Gerontology, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel
Shiri Shinan-Altman
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Miri Cohen, PhD, Department of Gerontology, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. Phone: +972 4 8249565; Fax: +972 4 8240573. Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: Nursing aides’ attitudes to elder abuse may serve as predictors of a proclivity to it, and may be influenced by cultural and situational context such as immigration. The purpose of the current study was to examine attitudes to elder abuse in three groups of Israeli nursing aides, namely veteran Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, and new immigrants, and their associations to demographic and work-related factors.

Methods: 188 nursing aides (31 veteran Israeli Jews, 38 Israeli Arabs, 119 new immigrants) at 18 nursing homes in Israel completed questionnaires on work stressors, attitudes to elder abuse, sociodemographic and work-related characteristics, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Results: New immigrant nursing aides reported a higher tendency to condone abusive behaviors than did veteran Jewish and Arab nursing aides. Some 23% of the variance in attitudes was explained by group, demographics, work stressors and burnout. Greater condoning of elder abuse was associated with belonging to the new immigrant group, being unmarried and reporting higher work stressors. There was an interaction effect of work stressors × group, indicating that higher work stressors were related to a stronger tendency to condone elder abuse in the new immigrant group than in the veteran Jewish and Arab groups. Burnout was correlated with greater condoning of elder abuse; this association was not significant when the other variables were controlled for in the regression analysis.

Conclusions: Attitudes condoning elder abuse are related to work stressors, and may be accelerated by the additional stressors on new immigrant nursing aides. Careful planning of the professional guidance and support given to new immigrant nursing aides is important.

Keywords

attitudes to elder abuselong-term facilitieswork stressorsculture differences
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 23 , Issue 8 , October 2011 , pp. 1213 - 1221
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aarons, G. A. and Sawitzky, A. C. (2006). Organizational climate partially mediates the effect of culture on work attitudes and staff turnover in mental health services. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 33, 289–301. doi: 10.1007/s10488-006-0039-1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ahmad, M. and Lachs, M. S. (2002). Elder abuse and neglect: what physicians can and should do. Cleveland Clinical Journal of Medicine, 69, 801–808. doi: 10.3949/ccjm.69.10.801CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ajzen, I. and Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Englewood-Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Almogue, A., Weiss, F. A., Marcus, E. L. and Beloosesky, Y. (2010). Attitudes and knowledge of medical and nursing staff toward elder abuse. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 51, 86–91. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2009.08.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anetzberger, G. J., Korbin, J. E. and Tomita, S. K. (1996). Defining elder mistreatment in four ethnic groups across two generations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 11, 187–212. doi: 10.1007/BF00114860CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, M., Halevy-Levin, S., Gagin, R. and Friedman, G. (2006). Development of a screening tool for identifying elderly people at risk of abuse by their caregivers. Journal of Aging and Health, 18, 660–685. doi: 10.1177/0898264306293257CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, M., Halevy-Levin, S., Gagin, R., Priltuzky, D. and Friedman, G. (2010). Elder abuse in long-term care residences and the risk indicators. Ageing and Society, 30, 1027–1040. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X10000188CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen-Mansfield, J. and Noelker, L. (2000). Nursing staff satisfaction in long-term care: an overview. In Cohen-Mansfield, J., Ejaz, F. K. and Werner, P. (eds.), Satisfaction Surveys in Long-term Care (pp. 52–75). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Cooper, C., Selwood, A. and Livingston, G. (2008). The prevalence of elder abuse and neglect: a systematic review. Age and Ageing, 37, 151–60. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afm194CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Datta, G. D., Neville, B. A., Kawachi, I., Datta, N. S. and Earle, C. C. (2009). Marital status and survival following bladder cancer. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 63, 807–813. doi:10.1136/jech.2008.082438CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Durkheim, E. (1961). Suicide: A Study in Sociology. Spaulding, A. G. and Simpson, G. (trans.). Glencoe: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Dwairy, M. and Achoui, M. (2006). Introduction to three cross-regional research studies on parenting styles, individuation, and mental health in Arab societies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 231. doi: 10.1177/0022022106286921Google Scholar
Geiger-Brown, J., Muntaner, C., Lipscomb, J. and Trinkoff, A. (2004). Demanding work schedules and mental health in nursing assistants working in nursing homes. Work and Stress, 18, 292–304. doi: 10.1080/02678370412331320044CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goergen, T. (2001). Stress, conflict, elder abuse and neglect in German nursing homes: a pilot study among professional caregivers. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 13, 1–26. doi: 10.1300/J084v13n01_01CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldzweig, G., Andritsch, E., Hubert, A., Brenner, B., Walach, N., Perry, S. and Baider, L. (2010). Psychological distress among male patients and male spouses: what do oncologists need to know? Annals of Oncology, 21, 877–883. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdp398CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gonzalez-Roma, V. and Lloret, S. (1998). Construct validity of Rizzo et al.'s (1970) role conflict and ambiguity scales: a multisample study. International Association of Applied Psychology, 47, 535–545. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.1998.tb00042.xGoogle Scholar
Gubrium, J. (1975). Living and Dying at Murray Manor. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Harel-Bash, M. (2003). Nursing assistants in nursing homes. Master's thesis. Haifa, Israel: University of Haifa (in Hebrew).Google Scholar
Harnett, T. and Jönson, H. (2010). That's not my Robert! Identity maintenance and other warrants in family members’ claims about mistreatment in old-age care. Ageing and Society, 30, 627–647. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X09990584CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, D. K. (2005). Abuse in nursing homes. In Palmore, E. B., Branch, L. and Harris, D. K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ageism (pp. 1–14). Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.Google Scholar
Iecovich, E. (2005). Elder abuse and neglect in Israel: a comparison between the general elderly population and elderly new immigrants. Family Relations, 54, 436–447. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2005.00329.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jawahar, I. M., Stone, T. H. and Kisamore, J. L. (2007). Role conflict and burnout: the direct and moderating effects of political skill and perceived organizational support on burnout dimensions. International Journal of Stress Management, 14, 142–159. doi: 10.1037/1072-5245.14.2.142CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kogan, N. (1979). Attitudes toward old people: the development of a scale and an examination of correlates. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62, 44–54. doi.org/10.1037/h0048053CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lavee, Y. and Katz, R. (2003). The family in Israel: between tradition and modernity. Marriage and Family Review, 35, 193–217. doi: 10.1300/J002v35n01_11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lerner, V., Kanevsky, M. and Witztum, E. (2008). The influence of immigration on the mental health of those seeking psychiatric care in southern Israel: A comparison of new immigrants to veteran residents. The Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 45 (4), 291–298.Google Scholar
Lowell, B. L. and Gerova, S. G. (2004). Immigrants and the healthcare workforce: profiles and shortages. Work and Occupations, 31, 474–498. doi: 10.1177/0730888404268916CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowenstein, A., Katz, R. and Daatland, S. (2005). Filial norms and intergenerational support in Europe and Israel: a comparative perspective. In Silverstein, M. and Schaie, K. W. (eds.), Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics (pp. 200–214). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Marris, P. (1980). The uprooting of meaning. In Coelho, G. V. and Hamed, P. I. (eds.), Uprooting and Development: Dilemmas of Coping and Modernization (pp. 101–116). New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maslach, C. S. and Jackson, S. E. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory human services survey (MBI-HSS). In Maslach, C. and Jackson, S. E. (eds.), MBI Manual (3rd ed., pp. 3–18). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists.Google Scholar
Maslach, C. S., Schaufeli, W. B. and Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology. 52, 397–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moon, A. and Williams, O. (1993). Perceptions of elder abuse and help-seeking patterns among African-American, Caucasian American, and Korean-American elderly women. Gerontologist, 33, 386–396. doi: 10.1093/geront/33.3.386CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nerenberg, L. (2000). Developing a service response to elder abuse. Generations, 2, 86–92.Google Scholar
Patterson, M. and Malley-Morrison, K. (2006). Cognitive-ecological approach to elder abuse in five cultures: human rights and education. Educational Gerontology, 32, 73–82. doi: 10.1080/03601270500338666CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pillemer, K. and Bachman-Prehn, R. (1991). Helping and hurting: predictors of maltreatment of patients in nursing homes. Research on Aging, 13, 74–95. doi: 10.1177/0164027591131004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pillemer, K. and Moore, D. W. (1989). Abuse of patients in nursing homes: findings from a survey of staff. The Gerontologist, 29, 314–320. doi: 10.1093/geront/29.3.314CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rabi, K. (2006). Israeli perspectives on elder abuse. Educational Gerontology, 32, 49–62. doi: 10.1080/03601270500338617CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Remennick, L. I. (1999). ‘Women with a Russian accent’ in Israel: on the gender aspects of immigration. European Journal of Women's Studies, 6, 441–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rizzo, J. R., House, R. J. and Lirtzman, S. I. (1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15, 150–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharon, N. and Zoabi, S. (1997). Elder abuse in a land of tradition: the case of Israel's Arabs. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 8 (4), 43–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shinan-Altman, S. and Cohen, M. (2009). Nursing aides’ attitudes to elder abuse in nursing homes: the effect of work stressors and burnout. The Gerontologist, 49, 674–684. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnp093CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, R. and Weiner, J. (2001). Who will Care for Us? Addressing the Long-term Care Workforce Crisis. Washington, DC: Urban Institute and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.Google Scholar
Tam, S. and Neysmith, S. (2006). Disrespect and isolation: elder abuse in Chinese communities. Canadian Journal of Aging, 25, 141–151.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tatara, T. (1999). Understanding Elder Abuse in Minority Populations. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Yakhnich, L. (2008). Immigration as a multiple-stressor situation: stress and coping among immigrants from the Soviet Union in Israel. International Journal of Stress Management, 15, 252–268. doi:10.1037/a0013002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yan, E. and Tang, S. K. (2003). Proclivity to elder abuse: a community study on Hong Kong Chinese. Journal of International Violence, 18, 999–1017. doi: 10.1177/0886260503254461Google Scholar
Zellars, K. L., Perrewe, , , P. L. and Hochwarter, W. A. (2000). Burnout in health care: the role of the five factors of personality. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 1570–1598. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02456.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar