Nurses' Perspectives on Cancer Care for People Who Experience Incarceration in British Columbia, Canada: Challenges and Opportunities.

Interdisciplinary geriatric care providers, including nurses, personal support workers (PSWs), physicians, social workers and other multidisciplinary professionals (e.g., psychologists and occupational therapists), are often witnesses and disclosure recipients of maltreatment involving older adults (). Despite there being mandatory reporting laws in Ontario, Canada, for older adult residents in community, retirement home and long-term care (LTC) settings, interdisciplinary geriatric care providers can be reluctant to disclose observed maltreatment due to insufficient training and time (; ). Failure to report observed maltreatment can expose older adults to serious, escalating, and potentially life-threatening harm (; ). In their review of the scientific literature, argued that addressing the barriers to detecting and reporting older adult maltreatment is essential for preventing future victimization. The current mixed methods study was designed to better comprehend interdisciplinary geriatric care providers in Ontario, Canada, may be reluctant or unable to effectively report older adult maltreatment, as well as to inform future professional development programs. The first objective of this study was to explore interdisciplinary geriatric care provider experiences observing older adult maltreatment in their workplaces, including their perceptions of the common indicators, risk factors and perpetrators. The second objective involved gathering insight into the older adult-specific and professional barriers to reporting older adult maltreatment. The third objective was to investigate interdisciplinary geriatric care provider preparedness to respond to situations involving older adult maltreatment, along with their recommendations for future professional development. The results from this study can inform interdisciplinary geriatric care provider training, professional and institutional policies, and reporting guidelines for assisting older adults who are most at-risk for being maltreated. The older adult population, which includes those aged 65 years and older (), is the fastest growing age demographic in Canada. The percentage of older adults is expected to increase from 18.9% of the population in 2024 to between 21.6% (slow-aging projection) to 31.7% (fast aging projection) of the population by 2073 (). The number of people aged 85 years and older in 2021 was more than twice the number recorded in the 2001 census (), and this age group is expected to triple between 2023 and 2073 (). The significant increase in the population share of this age group is attributed to the aging baby-boomer generation, coupled with the gradually lower fertility rates of the subsequent generations (). While many older adults live relatively independently well into their 80s and 90s, there is an increasing number of older adults who require care in health, retirement home, nursing home, and community settings. The projects that Canada will need to nearly double its LTC capacity by 2035 given the need for an additional 199,000 beds.