Protections
Institutional abuse
Nursing home staff have only rarely been trained to identify and prevent abusive situations. This is especially troubling in light of a study of nursing homes in which nursing home aides and orderlies were found to be the primary abusers of residents. Training initiatives that increase attention to realistic duties and staff workloads, the quality of interactions between staff and residents, stress management, conflict resolution, and managing difficult care situations may reduce institutional abuse.
Training has been a successful tool for improving staff attitudes toward residents, reducing conflict with residents, staff aggression, and physical abuse. Other efforts to address recruitment and retention of qualified staff are discussed in the Healthcare Workforce chapter of this report.
Updated: November 2, 2007
