Residents of LTC who abuse the staff

[BVUstudent]

I am currently doing research on this very subject. My wife is a CNA,CMA and the main shower aide in her LTC facility. This is how I have my knowledge. I am conducting a huge research project: "Certified Nursing Aides within the healthcare profession have a greater risk of physical abuse by residents in the workplace."

I have looked everywhere I can think of ( so have my instructors) to find Accredited Journals in the United States to support my research. Well I have found none and there is no word from my instructors. So if any of you CNA's, LPN's, or RN's have seen such a journal I would be ever so grateful. I will be completing my Masters in Social work/Human resources in the next 3 years. This is a primary focus.

My main goal is to bring awareness to owners and administrators that this behavior from the residents IS NOT "part of the job description".

My question: What can be done to remedy this problem within the LTC facilities? Why is this subject so "hush hush"?

[tuckdemo]

Before becoming an administrator for an assisted living facility, I have worked as a CNA and a therapist in live-in facilities for the mentally challenged. I knew abuse of staff in these facilities came with the territory. Abuse of staff in senior living was disturbing, but the actuality of there being no mention of any recourse in these situations for administrators in any of the rules and regs. There are no procedures to follow, no forms or incident reports to fill out, nobody to report to. It's frustrating to say the least. Having the resident removed from the facility isn't even practical because the problem just moves on to another facility. Not a solution. I've had residents come to my facility with no mention of negative behavior.

I can understand why the family doesn't mention it, but the facility that they come from usually gives you a "They're changing facilities because they just weren't happy here." I have been here long enough now to know that's code for a difficult resident.

There is also the problem with assisted living facilities, they we cannot force residents to take their meds. Most are on medications to regulate aggravation and irritability. When they don't take the meds then there's a problem.

As an administrator, I'm terribly concerned for my staff. Researching the subject is how I came to this website. There is not much out there on this subject for the nursing community and even less for administrators.

Best of luck on your research