Determination of knowledge and attitudes of research assistants of the department of family medicine studying at university and education research hospitals in Ankara on elder abuse

Objective: Old age is known as a period in which dependency increases due to social and physical function losses. In this period, the primary problem of the elderly and family members is that the elderly need care and assistance. This situation can cause social, psychological and economic problems in the family. One of the ways in which the changes and problems experienced in the family reflect on the elderly is the possibility of the elderly being exposed to abuse. Abuse and neglect of the elderly is an important social problem that is discussed all over the world. The object of this study is to increase the awareness of family medicine residents about elder abuse and to evaluate their knowledge and attitudes on this issue. Materials and Methods: This study was planned as a cross-sectional study and was conducted between 20.07.2020 and 20.11.2020 in Ankara. The sample for the study consists of 595 family medicine residents studying in Ankara. By going through the literature, survey questions appropriate to the objective were created by the researcher. In the survey, which was used as a data collection tool in the study, the participants were asked about their socio-demographic characteristics, professional characteristics and their perceptions, knowledge, behavior and attitudes towards elder abuse. The data were analyzed in the SPSS (version 22.0 for Windows, SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL) statistics program. The value of p<0.05 calculated in all examinations was accepted as statistically significant. Results: 283 Family medicine residents participated in the study. 29.3% (n=83) of the participants were men and 70.7% (n=200) were women. It was determined that 74.2% (n=210) of the family medicine residents were 30 years old and younger, and 8.5% (n=24) were 41 years old or older. It was determined that 83% of the participants (n=235) worked as a full-time family medicine resident and 17% (n=48) as a contracted family medicine resident (SAHU). It was determined that 41.7% (n=118) of participating family medicine resident were in their first year of residency training, 22.6% (n=64) were in their second year, and 24.7% (n=70) were in their third year. It was found that 11% (n=31) of the participating family medicine residents were in their residency training for more than three years. 53.7% (n=152) of the participants stated that in their Professional past, they had attended to elderly patients who had been victim of abuse. 3.5% (n=10) of family medicine residents participating in the study stated that they had reported abuse before. 80.9% of the participants (n=229) stated that they agreed with the statement "Elder abuse is an important problem among geriatric patients". 90.8% (n=257) of Family Physician medicine residents stated that they disagree with the statement "It is not my responsibility as a healthcare worker to report cases of elder abuse". The participants who stated that more training should be given about abuse and neglect of the elderly was 94.3% (n=267). No statistically significant relationship (p>0.05). was found between noticing signs of elder abuse in the last 12 months and the gender, title, primary care experience, time spent in the profession, living with a family member over 65 years of age, working in the home health unit as a doctor, having a family member with a chronic disease. A statistically significant relationship was found between the duration of assistantship and the reporting of abuse (p=0.005). Conclusion: In this study conducted with family medicine residents in Ankara it was found that, based on their response to the proposed statements, they have sufficient knowledge concerning signs and symptoms of elder abuse and the relating legal matters. However, the same could not be said for the diagnosis and reporting of abuse. Residents did not think they had had adequate training in abuse. Considering the number of family physicians and the number of applications made to primary care and the ease of access to family health centers, family physicians have a privileged position in terms of diagnosing and intervening in suspected cases of elder abuse. It would be beneficial to organize in-service trainings in order to raise awareness about elder abuse. Educating physicians, ensuring their safety and preparing guidelines and instructions that they can easily follow when they suspect abuses could increase the number of cases being. reported Keywords: Family Medicine, Family Medicine Residents, Elder Abuse