Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from one component of an empirical, mixed methods research project designed to determine the extent, nature and causes of abuse in contemporary independent sector care homes for older people. Design/methodology/approach – A self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to elicit both numerical and textual data that were subsequently subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The questionnaire was distributed to newly appointed care staff in five participating care homes to determine the nature of any abuse they may have witnessed in the homes in which they had previously worked. Findings – A significant proportion of respondents described instances of predominantly psychological and physical abuse and neglect and revealed hitherto undisclosed abusive practices. Research limitations/implications – Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 140 anonymous questionnaire respondents, of whom 94 had witnessed abuse, data suggest abuse continues to occur in some care homes for older people. Originality/value – The research has revealed staffs’ recent experiences of a range of abusive acts and practices. Findings suggest that changes are required to current methods of external scrutiny and investigation of practices in care homes.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present some of the findings from an empirical, mixed methods research project that reveal the importance of the personal value frameworks held by individual staff in the prevention of abuse of older people in private sector care homes. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with a sample of 36 care home personnel, including proprietors, care managers and care staff. Findings A significant number of respondents identified the importance of personal value frameworks among staff providing care as a potential contributory factor in the prevention of abuse of older people. Research limitations/implications Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 36 care home personnel through interviews, data suggest that the personal evaluations of staff towards those in their care is a significant contributory factor to the occurrence of abuse. Originality/value The research has identified individual staff value frameworks as a causal factor in the occurrence of abuse. The research also confirms that the perceptions of “values” among respondents directly involved in the provision of care are at odds with common understanding of “values” often cited elsewhere in connection with staff recruitment and training as a means of preventing the occurrence of abuse.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present findings from an empirical research project designed to enhance knowledge of the current extent and nature of abuse in contemporary care homes for older people. Design/methodology/approach A self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to elicit both numerical and textual data that was subsequently subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The questionnaire was distributed to newly appointed care staff in six participating care homes providing care to older people to determine the nature of any abuse they may have witnessed in the homes in which they had previously worked. Findings A significant proportion of respondents described instances of predominantly psychological and physical abuse and neglect. Research limitations/implications Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 194 anonymous questionnaire respondents, of whom 140 had witnessed abuse; data suggest that abuse continues to occur in some care homes for older people. Originality/value The research has revealed staffs’ recent experiences of a range of abusive acts and practices. Findings suggest that changes are required to current methods of external scrutiny and investigation of practices in care homes.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present some of the findings from an empirical, mixed methods research project that reveal underreporting and active concealment of abuse in private sector care homes. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 36 care home personnel. An anonymously completed questionnaire was also used concurrently among newly appointed staff in newly opened care homes, to elicit additional quantitative and qualitative data. Findings A significant number of respondents reported awareness of acts of abuse that had not been reported within the care home or externally to the authorities. Some respondents were aware that where occurrences of abuse had been reported, no subsequent action was taken, and external authorities were not always involved in responses to abuse. A significant number of respondents were aware of deliberate strategies used to deter reports of abuse to external agencies. Research limitations/implications Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 36 care home personnel through interviews, and 94 questionnaire respondents who had witnessed occurrences of abuse, data suggest that a significant proportion of abuse in care homes remains unreported. Originality/value The research has revealed staffs’ experiences of underreporting of abuse in private sector care homes. Findings indicate that changes are required to current methods of scrutiny of occurrences of abuse in care homes and the strengthening of incentives to report it.