Risks of financial abuse of older people with dementia: findings from a survey of UK voluntary sector dementia community services staff
Abstract
Purpose
Financial abuse of people with dementia is of rising concern to family carers, the voluntary sector and professionals. Little is known about preventative and early response practice among community services staff. The purpose of this paper is to investigate voluntary sector staff's views of the risks of managing money when a person has a dementia and explore ways that individuals may be protected from the risks of financial abuse.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey of staff of local Alzheimer's Society groups across England was conducted in 2011 and was completed by 86 respondents. Open-ended responses supplemented survey questions. Statistical analysis and content analysis identified emergent findings.
Findings
Most respondents said their people with dementia experienced problems with money management, with almost half the respondents reporting encountering cases of financial abuse over the past year. Most were alert to warning signs and vulnerabilities and offered suggestions relevant to practice and policy about prevention and risk minimization.
Research limitations/implications
Adult safeguarding practitioners are likely to encounter money management uncertainties and concerns about exploitation of people with dementia. They may be contacted by community-based support staff from the voluntary sector about individual queries but could ensure that such practitioners are engaged in local training and networking activities to promote their skills and confidence.
Practical implications
As with other forms of elder abuse, professionals need to be aware of risks of financial abuse and be able to suggest effective yet acceptable preventive measures and ways to reduce risks of harm and loss. Further publicity about adult safeguarding services may be needed among local community support services.
Originality/value
There have been few studies investigating the views of people working with people with dementia in the community about adult safeguarding.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to all Alzheimer's Society staff who shared their views with us. This paper presents independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research scheme (RP-PG-0606-1005) (the Evidem study). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.
Conflicts of interest: Kritika Samsi and Jill Manthorpe are members of the Alzheimer's Society and are engaged in providing it with advice and assistance. Karishma Chandaria is a Senior Policy Officer at the Alzheimer's Society.
Citation
Samsi, K., Manthorpe, J. and Chandaria, K. (2014), "Risks of financial abuse of older people with dementia: findings from a survey of UK voluntary sector dementia community services staff", The Journal of Adult Protection, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 180-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-04-2013-0018
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited