Webinar: Understanding and Preventing Elder Abuse and Neglect
Understanding and Preventing Elder Abuse and Neglect
Date: Monday, 30 June 2025
Time: 06:00 UTC
WONCA’s Special Interest Group on Family Violence invites you to a timely webinar on elder abuse and neglect. Join speakers from Slovenia, Australia and Israel as they share tools, experience and strategies to help family doctors better identify and respond to this growing concern.
1. Background (Clinical Context)
Elder abuse is a significant and often underdiagnosed public health issue. Family practitioners are in a unique position to detect Elder Abuse and Neglect (EAN) early due to their longitudinal relationships with patients and their families.
Older adults may present with vague, non-specific symptoms or chronic conditions that mask signs of EAN. Moreover, specific characteristics of EAN, such as the need for careful differential diagnosis from conditions caused by age/disease/medications, conditions caused by dependency on the carer, and the frailty of the victims, make it even more difficult to detect. These challenges are compounded by time constraints in clinical settings, lack of training in elder protection, and underreporting, as well as other significant barriers to healthcare providers as well as barriers to disclosure by the patients themselves As the aging population continues to grow, physicians must be prepared to recognize, document, and respond appropriately to signs of mistreatment.
2. Aims (CPE-Oriented Learning Objectives)
By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:
— Define elder abuse and neglect and describe its subtypes, including physical, emotional, financial, sexual abuse, and neglect.
— Recognize clinical symptoms, signs, and behavioural red flags suggestive of abuse or neglect in older patients.
— Understand medico-legal responsibilities, including mandatory reporting laws and documentation standards, which may differ in different countries.
— Apply practical strategies to detect risk factors and recognize abuse during routine consultations, even in time-limited settings.
— Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, including social care, legal advocates, and non-governmental organizations, for appropriate referral and follow-up.
Speakers
Dr Hagit Dascal-Weichhendler (Israel)
Hagit Dascal-Weichhendler is a board-certified family physician and Chair of the Committee on Family Violence for Clalit Health Services in Northern Israel. She leads training and support services for staff serving over 740,000 people, and teaches extensively on family violence at Haifa’s Department of Family Medicine.
Asst Prof. Nena Kopčavar Guček (Slovenia)
Nena Kopčavar Guček is a family doctor in Ljubljana and Assistant Professor at the University of Ljubljana. She leads the Medical Chamber of Slovenia’s Committee for Preventing Violence, and has long-standing teaching and mentoring roles in medical education, with a strong focus on family and workplace violence.
Moderator
A/Prof Jennifer Neil – Secretary, WONCA SIG on Family Violence
Watch the recording
Watch Previous Webinars
This webinar is part of WONCA’s ongoing commitment to equipping family doctors with the tools and awareness to address violence in all its forms.