Interventions from Home-Based Geriatric Assessments of Adult Protective Service Clients Suffering Elder Mistreatment

Objectives: To describe the interventions for adult protective service (APS) clients referred for geriatric assessment. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: In‐home geriatric assessments conducted in two New Jersey counties. Participants: Two hundred eleven APS clients; 74% female; mean age 77. Measurements: Cognition, affect, nutrition, prevalence of selected medical diagnoses and functional conditions, and categories of interventions. Results: Home health agency services were initiated for 46% of APS clients suffering from all forms of mistreatment. Institutional placements (36%) and guardianship interventions (36%) were correlated with caregiver neglect, especially in female APS clients and those diagnosed with dementia. Urgent medications (25%) were prescribed across all mistreatment classifications, and acute hospitalization (20%) was correlated with circumstances of physical abuse. Conclusion: An in‐home geriatric assessment service was able to contribute at least one relevant intervention for 81% of referred APS clients to collaboratively help mitigate elder mistreatment circumstances.