Elder abuse is a national public health challenge that can have dire consequences for the older adults who experience it in any form. The Senior Companion Program presents a unique opportunity to address this public health challenge. An in-person training for Senior Companion volunteers across Ohio on how to recognize and report elder abuse was developed, implemented, and evaluated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Evaluation consisted of surveys distributed prior to and at the conclusion of the training. A total of 302 volunteers were trained with a survey response rate of 76%. While there was significant knowledge improvement in one of the five knowledge items ( p < .000, all other ps ≥ .065), volunteers’ subjective rating of their knowledge on abuse significantly improved ( p = .029). Training older adult volunteers working with other community-dwelling adults is likely a valuable strategy to educate and protect against elder abuse.

中文翻译：

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培训高级同伴志愿者识别和报告成人虐待、忽视和剥削行为

虐待老年人是一项全国性的公共卫生挑战，可能会给遭受任何形式虐待的老年人带来可怕的后果。高级伴侣计划为应对这一公共卫生挑战提供了独特的机会。在 COVID-19 大流行之前，我们为俄亥俄州各地的高级伴侣志愿者制定、实施和评估了如何识别和报告虐待老年人行为的现场培训。评估包括在培训之前和培训结束时分发的调查。共培训志愿者302人，调查响应率为76%。虽然五个知识项目之一的知识有了显着提高（p < .000，所有其他 p ≥ .065），但志愿者对其虐待知识的主观评价显着提高（p = .029）。培训老年人志愿者与其他社区居民一起工作可能是教育和防止虐待老年人的一个有价值的策略。