January 27, 2016

CDC Announces Critical Component in Elder Abuse Fight

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the much-anticipated Elder Abuse Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Core Data Elements (PDF).

The field of elder justices has long struggled with the challenge of comparing data from different jurisdictions or sources, each of which uses their own definition of "abuse" or "neglect." By establishing and normalizing consistent definitions and data elements, it should become easier to compare apples to apples in order to better understand, and more effectively combat, elder abuse.

CDC worked with a wide range of stakeholders, including ACL, to develop these recommendations, which are consistent with ACL's National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS) initiative.