Policy Series: Trends in Elder Abuse and Initiatives to Prevent Elder Abuse in Japan During the Past 20 Years

Saturday, November 16, 2024

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Location: Room 211

CE: 1.5

Chair(s)

MP

Michelle Putnam, PhD, MGS (she/her/hers)

Professor, Jennifer Eckert Endowed Chair in Social Work
School of Social Work
Simmons University
Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Discussant(s)

Pamela Teaster, Ph.D., M.A., M.S. , NREMT (she/her/hers)

Professor & Director
Center for Gerontology
Virginia Tech.
BLACKSBURG, Virginia, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

NT

Noriko Tsukada, PhD, MGS, FGSA (she/her/hers)

Professor
College of Commerce
Nihon University
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Tadashi Wada, MD (he/him/his)

Medical Doctor
Home Care Medical Services
Hidamari Homecare Clinic
Chiba, Chiba, Japan
HS

Hitoshi Suda, MA (he/him/his)

Associate Professor
Social Welfare
Seitoku University
Matsudo-city, Chiba, Japan

This symposium begins by briefly introducing activities of Japan Academy for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, cerebrating 20 years, and features the Japanese Act on the Prevention of Elder Abuse. First, using data collected by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), research analyses present trends in elder abuse case reports substantiated as “elder abuse”, trends in reporters in both institutional and domestic settings, and introduce recent amendments of operational standards made by ministerial ordinance. Second, using data (N=171) on elder abuse from Matsudo-City collected in 2019, analysis examines relationships between trends in the increasing number of elder abuse reports made by the police (about 43% of all cases) and trends in the number of cases regally considered to be “elder abuse” (only 17.8% of those reported to the police were legally considered to be “elder abuse”). It examines possible reasons and propose necessary policy changes in definitions of elder abuse. Third, using longitudinal data collected by Matsudo-city and by the MHLW from 2006 through 2022, this analysis examines the impacts of COVID-19 on the occurrence of elder abuse. Analyses revealed that neither data set showed significant increase in frequencies of occurrence of elder abuse due to COVID-19. Rather, it showed a decrease for the MHLW data. This study examines possible reasons and make recommendations to further decrease frequencies of occurrence of elder abuse cases.

Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of Older Persons Interest Group Sponsored Symposium

Learning Objectives:

After attending this session, participants will be able to learn trends in elder abuse in Japan based on the nationwide data collected by the Ministry of Helath, Labour, and Welfare.
After attending this session, participants will be able to learn a case study of Matsudo-city in Chiba prefecture to prevent elder abuse.
After attending this session, participants will be able to learn characteristics of the Japanese Act on the Prevention of Elder Abuse and a brief history of Japan Academy for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.

Presentations:

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Trends in Nationwide Research Outcomes on Elder Abuse and Policy Development to Prevent Elder Abuse in Japan
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Noriko Tsukada, PhD, MGS, FGSA (she/her/hers) – Nihon University
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Domestic Elder Abuse in Japan
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Tadashi Wada, MD (he/him/his) – Hidamari Homecare Clinic
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Realities and Challenges of Elder Abuse Reported to the Police
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Hitoshi Suda, MA (he/him/his) – Seitoku University