Violence in elderly care is a problem occurring in many European countries. According to the WHO, it is estimated that almost 16 % of people aged 60 and over are exposed to violent behaviour. This increase is expected in the context of a rapidly ageing population. Studies show that workers in social services don’t have the skills, knowledge and experience they need to detect violence in elderly care, either directly on the elderly people or on themselves. The aim of this project is to eliminate the occurrence of violence in elderly care through a vocational training program and a textbook. All activities that will lead to the creation of a vocational training program have been designed so the final program reflects not only needs of the target group, but also the specifics of individual countries that will be participating in the creation. The following activities will therefore lead to the development of vocational training program: a) national focus groups; b) investigation of the need between the target group and stakeholders; c) creation of a prefinal version of the vocational training program; d) piloting in partner countries; e) modification of the vocational education program based on feedback = final version. The target group for whom the vocational training program will be created are employees of social service providers. After completing the vocational training program, these people will be able to prevent, identify and respond to acts of violence under a unified framework. Four countries will be participating in the project, namely the Czech Republic (APSS ČR), Austria (SeneCura) France (FNAQPA), and Spain (LARES). The aim of the partnership is to bring together organisations expertizing in quality of education and organisations providing social care and representing the target group. Involvement of organisations with training capacity offers us a possibility to include a vocational training program in their curriculum, thus ensuring long-term sustainability even after the project is completed.
The problem of violence in its various forms is also evident in elderly care and can be detected in all countries across Europe. The manifestations of violence in elderly care can take various forms: mistreatment or misbehaviour, gestures and sometimes actions. Violent behaviour then occurs either as a result of human failure or organisational and operational reasons, or as a result of illness or psychological problems of the elderly themselves. This project therefore focused on violence prevention at a transnational level. The main objective of the project was to develop a professional training programme to help social service workers to better understand the issue of violence in elderly care. In general, we are focusing on topics such as the prevention of violence, its recognition and identification and, last but not least, how we should react and defend ourselves in such situations if they occur. By creating an educational program and training social service workers, the project aimed to eliminate the prevalence of violent situations in social services whose target group is the elderly.
Violence in elderly care is a problem that many countries are dealing with. The WHO estimates that almost 16% of people aged 60+ are exposed to some form of violence. This figure may be much higher in reality, as many cases of violence are not reported at all. The ageing population is also a resonating issue in European countries, which will only worsen the problem of violence against the elderly, and we can expect these situations to increase. For example, the European Commission's Silver Economy study estimates that by 2060, at least one in three Europeans will be over 65. Some cases of violence in social services are also being reported in the media. In Czechia, for example, 2 such cases have been in the media in 2019. In France, the issue of violence was also taken up by the national authority HAS. In Spain, they are then faced with an increasing number of complaints and the whole issue is being dealt with at government level. The Austrian partner had to deal with violence directly in their homes during the project’s implementation. Many factors can trigger such situations, which is why the partners decided to develop a training programme that would comprehensively focus on the issue of violence in social services.