When Seniors Are Abused: A Guide to Intervention

Ashley Thomson is a full librarian at Laurentian University and co-editor or co-author of nine books, most recently Margaret Atwood: A Reference Guide, 1988-2005.

Written by a couple of academics—Reis is affiliated with the Centre
for Research in Human Development at Concordia University, Nahmiash with
the McGill School of Social Work—When Seniors Are Abused grew out of a
field test at “a large health and social service agency” in
Montreal. The book presents a four-part “tool kit” designed to
screen for the abuse of the elderly. It also describes a possible
intervention model that comprises a home-care intervention team, a
multidisciplinary consultant team, an expert consultant team, a “buddy
program,” empowerment support groups for caregivers and receivers, and
a community advisory committee whose primary task would be to publicize
the problem of elder abuse. The last chapter illustrates with specific
examples how the model would work.

Although its scholarly nature may be off-putting to some, the book is
intended for a wide audience, including seniors “concerned with their
own well-being.” While the model worked in Montreal, a community with
many resources, one wonders how applicable it would be in a rural area
or smaller urban centre. Nevertheless, the authors are to be commended
for addressing an important issue that deserves wider attention.