Implementing a Systematic Screening Procedure for Older Adult Mistreatment Within Individual Clinical Supervision: Is It Feasible?

Home care professionals are well positioned to witness or prevent older adult mistreatment in the community. Screening efforts are important because most victims will not easily come forth. Two Canadian local community service centers implemented a systematic screening procedure within preexisting individual clinical supervision sessions to support social workers and improve detection of mistreatment. The aim of this pilot project was to assess fidelity, acceptability, and feasibility of the new procedure. Qualitative data was collected using individual interviews with two clinical supervisors, one focus group with eight social workers and content transcribed from 15 supervision sessions. It was estimated that 400 clients were screened for older adult mistreatment using this new procedure. Results showed the procedure was judged acceptable because it sensitized social workers to risk factors, gave them time to reflect upon and discuss probable cases with their clinical supervisor. Nonetheless, participants did not use the designated statistical code in the new procedure to document mistreatment situations. Feasibility was mainly challenged by the fact that screening for older adult mistreatment competes with other organizational priorities. Future initiatives must develop strategies to counteract those barriers.