Elder AbuseAPPEALNCT06786065
A Path to Prevention of Elder Abuse in Long-term Care. General Population Prevalence Study
An observational study of Elder Abuse, run by Linkoeping University at 1 site in Sweden.
Trial summary
The goal of this cross-sectional study is to learn about how common experiences of different forms of abuse are among people over the age of 65 years in Sweden. The main question it aims to answer is: What is the prevalence of abuse of older people in Sweden? Participants are recruited through a random selection of… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 65 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Elder Abuse
- How many people
- 7,727 participants
- Where
- 1 siteSweden
- Study dates
- 30 Sep 2024to 13 Jan 2025
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 65 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Older adult
Study population: Random sample (n=16 000) of adults age 65 or older from the Swedish population register. Sample is stratified in the following way: Age 65-74 years - 2000 men and 2000 women Age 75-84 years - 2000 men and 2000 women Age >85 years - 2000 men and women Registerd as living in an assissted living facility, age 65 or older - 2000 men and women
Who may be able to join
- Age 65 or older (born in 1959 or earlier)
Who cannot join
- None
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
The goal of this cross-sectional study is to learn about how common experiences of different forms of abuse are among people over the age of 65 years in Sweden. The main question it aims to answer is:
- What is the prevalence of abuse of older people in Sweden?
Participants are recruited through a random selection of people over 65 years from the populations register. Eligible participants are asked to answer a questionnaire including items about experiences of emotional, physical, sexual or financial abuse as well as neglect.
Read the detailed description
Detailed Description Main aim
- Investigate the prevalence of abuse of older people in Sweden
Secondary aims:
- Investigate factors associated with reporting abusive experiences, e.g., health factors, frailty, care dependence
- Investigate resilience factors associated with abusive experiences, e.g., social support, positive emotion regulation and sense of purpose.
Study design and data collection Cross-sectional questionnaire study using a combination of digital and postal questionnaires and carried out by Statistics Sweden. A national representative sample of older adults will be used.
The invitation to participate and questionnaire will be sent to altogether 16 000 older adults (≥ 65 years) selected from the population register at random. To be able to provide information about experiences of abuse among both men and women, in all age groups and among the most vulnerable population, older adults residing in care facilities, the sample is stratified according to the information given in the study population description. Population weights will be used in analyses.
Material:
The questions about abusive experiences used in the study is part of the "REAGERA-S20" questionnaire developed and validated in a separate study (Clinical Trial register number NCT06659822). In addition, other relevant and validated questionnaires are included, e.g., The Tilburg Frailty Indicator, the UCLA loneliness scale, the Positive Emotional Regulation scale and a scale measuring sense of purpose.
In addition, statistics from Swedish registers concerning e.g., usage of home care services, sociodemographic factors and indicators of health status will be used to explore factors associated with elder abuse on different levels of the socio-ecological framework.
Analysis:
Prevalence will be reported for the different types of abuse (emotional, physical, sexual, financial abuse and neglect) in different relational contexts (partner, child, staff, other known perpetrator, unknown perpetrator).
Regression analyses will be used to investigate associations between reporting different forms of abuse and factors on different levels of the socio-ecological model. On an individual and relational level characteristic of respondents, e.g., age, educational level, own previous victimization, resilience factors as well as frailty and different health indicators from registers will be considered. On the community and societal level factors such as living conditions will be considered.
- Conditions
- Elder Abuse
- Being tested
- No intervention (observational study)
- Keywords
- Abuse of older people
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
No intervention (observational study)Other
No intervention (observational study)
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Prevalence of emotional abuse of older people
Prevalence of emotional abuse the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include five questions about emotional abusive experiences and each question is answered with yes or no. Yes to at least one question will be considered as reporting experiences of emotional abuse.
Measured: Day1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of physical abuse of older people
Prevalence of physical abuse the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include two questions about physical abusive experiences and each question is answered with yes or no. Yes to at least one question will be considered as reporting experiences of physical abuse.
Measured: Day 1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of sexual abuse of older people
Prevalence of sexual abuse the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include two questions about sexually abusive experiences and each question is answered with yes or no. Yes to at least one question will be considered as reporting experiences of sexual abuse.
Measured: Day 1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of financial abuse of older people
Prevalence of financial abuse the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include one questions about financial abusive experiences and is answered with yes or no. Yes to will be considered as reporting experiences of financial abuse.
Measured: Day 1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of neglect of older people
Prevalence of neglect the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include two questions about neglect and each question is answered with yes or no. Yes to at least one question will be considered as reporting experiences of neglect.
Measured: Day 1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Life-course prevalence of emotional abuse
Prevalence of emotional abuse over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Measured: Day 1
Life-course prevalence of physical abuse
Prevalence of physical abuse over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Measured: Day 1
Life-course prevalence of sexual abuse
Prevalence of sexual abuse over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Measured: Day 1
Life-course prevalence of financial abuse
Prevalence of financial abuse over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Measured: Day 1
Life-course prevalence of neglect
Prevalence of neglect over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Measured: Day 1
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted22 Jan 2025
- Study start30 Sep 2024
- Primary completion13 Jan 2025
- Study completion13 Jan 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Elder AbuseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Linkoeping UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Enrolment
- 7,727 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Linkoeping University
- Sponsor type
- Other government
- Collaborators
- Region Östergötland, City of Gothenburg, Karolinska Institutet, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Johanna Simmons, Linkoeping University
- Investigators
- Johanna Simm, MD, PhD, Principal investigator, Linkoeping University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06786065
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2023-07931-01
- Other IDs
- A Path to Prevention of Elder, 2023
- Acronym
- APPEAL
- Status last verified
- Jan 2025
- First submitted
- 10 Jan 2025
- Last updated
- 27 Jan 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Anonymous data will be made available from the researcher upon reasonable request.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 27 Jan 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Path to Prevention of Elder Abuse in Long-term Care. General Population Prevalence Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06786065
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- APPEAL / 2023-07931-01
- Conditions
- Elder Abuse
- Keywords
- Abuse of older people
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 7,727 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Linkoeping UniversityOther government
- Collaborators
- Region Östergötland, City of Gothenburg, Karolinska Institutet, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Study start
- 30 Sep 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 13 Jan 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 13 Jan 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 22 Jan 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this cross-sectional study is to learn about how common experiences of different forms of abuse are among people over the age of 65 years in Sweden. The main question it aims to answer is:
- What is the prevalence of abuse of older people in Sweden?
Participants are recruited through a random selection of people over 65 years from the populations register. Eligible participants are asked to answer a questionnaire including items about experiences of emotional, physical, sexual or financial abuse as well as neglect.
Detailed description
Detailed Description Main aim
- Investigate the prevalence of abuse of older people in Sweden
Secondary aims:
- Investigate factors associated with reporting abusive experiences, e.g., health factors, frailty, care dependence
- Investigate resilience factors associated with abusive experiences, e.g., social support, positive emotion regulation and sense of purpose.
Study design and data collection Cross-sectional questionnaire study using a combination of digital and postal questionnaires and carried out by Statistics Sweden. A national representative sample of older adults will be used.
The invitation to participate and questionnaire will be sent to altogether 16 000 older adults (≥ 65 years) selected from the population register at random. To be able to provide information about experiences of abuse among both men and women, in all age groups and among the most vulnerable population, older adults residing in care facilities, the sample is stratified according to the information given in the study population description. Population weights will be used in analyses.
Material:
The questions about abusive experiences used in the study is part of the "REAGERA-S20" questionnaire developed and validated in a separate study (Clinical Trial register number NCT06659822). In addition, other relevant and validated questionnaires are included, e.g., The Tilburg Frailty Indicator, the UCLA loneliness scale, the Positive Emotional Regulation scale and a scale measuring sense of purpose.
In addition, statistics from Swedish registers concerning e.g., usage of home care services, sociodemographic factors and indicators of health status will be used to explore factors associated with elder abuse on different levels of the socio-ecological framework.
Analysis:
Prevalence will be reported for the different types of abuse (emotional, physical, sexual, financial abuse and neglect) in different relational contexts (partner, child, staff, other known perpetrator, unknown perpetrator).
Regression analyses will be used to investigate associations between reporting different forms of abuse and factors on different levels of the socio-ecological model. On an individual and relational level characteristic of respondents, e.g., age, educational level, own previous victimization, resilience factors as well as frailty and different health indicators from registers will be considered. On the community and societal level factors such as living conditions will be considered.
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 65 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Older adult
- Study population
- Random sample (n=16 000) of adults age 65 or older from the Swedish population register. Sample is stratified in the following way: Age 65-74 years - 2000 men and 2000 women Age 75-84 years - 2000 men and 2000 women Age >85 years - 2000 men and women Registerd as living in an assissted living facility, age 65 or older - 2000 men and women
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Age 65 or older (born in 1959 or earlier)
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- None
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| No intervention (observational study)No intervention (observational study) | Other | – |
Primary outcome
Prevalence of emotional abuse of older people
Time frame: Day1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of emotional abuse the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include five questions about emotional abusive experiences and each question is answered with yes or no. Yes to at least one question will be considered as reporting experiences of emotional abuse.
Prevalence of physical abuse of older people
Time frame: Day 1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of physical abuse the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include two questions about physical abusive experiences and each question is answered with yes or no. Yes to at least one question will be considered as reporting experiences of physical abuse.
Prevalence of sexual abuse of older people
Time frame: Day 1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of sexual abuse the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include two questions about sexually abusive experiences and each question is answered with yes or no. Yes to at least one question will be considered as reporting experiences of sexual abuse.
Prevalence of financial abuse of older people
Time frame: Day 1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of financial abuse the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include one questions about financial abusive experiences and is answered with yes or no. Yes to will be considered as reporting experiences of financial abuse.
Prevalence of neglect of older people
Time frame: Day 1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.
Prevalence of neglect the past 12 months as reported in part two of the REAGERA-S20 (Responding to Elder Abuse in Geriatric care) questionnaire. The questionnaire include two questions about neglect and each question is answered with yes or no. Yes to at least one question will be considered as reporting experiences of neglect.
Life-course prevalence of emotional abuse
Time frame: Day 1
Prevalence of emotional abuse over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Life-course prevalence of physical abuse
Time frame: Day 1
Prevalence of physical abuse over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Life-course prevalence of sexual abuse
Time frame: Day 1
Prevalence of sexual abuse over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Life-course prevalence of financial abuse
Time frame: Day 1
Prevalence of financial abuse over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Life-course prevalence of neglect
Time frame: Day 1
Prevalence of neglect over the life-course as reported in the questionnaire used. One question is used and possible answeres are "no", "yes before the age of 18", "yes between 18 and 65 years" and "yes after the age of 65 years". Results will be reported for abusive experience in each age span.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 27 Jan 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. Anonymous data will be made available from the researcher upon reasonable request.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Johanna Simm, MD, PhD principal investigator
Linkoeping University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Elder Abuse, run by Linkoeping University at 1 site in Sweden.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Jan 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Sweden. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Prevalence of emotional abuse of older people (time frame: Day1. Cross sectional study using only one point of data collection. Participants are enrolled by returing a questionnaire including items about abuse. The timeframe used in the questionnaire is experiences of abuse during the past 12 months.). The study lists 10 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Jan 2025.