Cases of elder abuse, intervention and hopes for the future, as reported by home service personnel.

This study aimed at describing cases of elder abuse reported by witnesses, intervention offered and opinions of further intervention strategies. Home service personnel from various parts of Sweden reported 97 cases. The abused person was a women in 75% of the cases. Many of the abused persons were physically and psychologically handicapped. In most of the cases the perpetrator was a spouse or a child and in one third of the cases they had a caregiving responsibility. Psychological abuse together with financial exploitation was most frequently reported. The perpetrators' possibilities to profit financially from the abused and the family conflicts were commonly reported to be contributory causes. In 75% of the cases intervention was offered. The Swedish welfare system has no specific intervention strategies in case of abuse of the elderly and therefore more possibilities to intervene and more research concerning intervention are needed.