Perceived Effectiveness of Elder Abuse Interventions in Psychological Distress and the Design of Culturally Adapted Interventions: A Qualitative Study in the Chinese Community in Chicago

Table 2

Perceived effectiveness of elder abuse intervention.

Themes	Subthemes	Representative statements
Social support	Peer group support	“I think you can have increased support from victims themselves, like support group type of things. If you have a speaker that experienced elder abuse to come in and actually talk to the elders, then elders can connect with someone who understands what they are going through. The speaker can share his help-seeking experiences and provide guidance to other peers too.”
	Family support	“As family friends and relatives, we need to be patient and listen to their problems.”; “They need family and relatives to lend ears to hear their problems.”
	Community support	“(…) we need to get a support group together in the community centers. Before older adults realize any potential abusive situations, they can go to the support groups and let professionals intervene at the earliest possibility. Then perhaps we can prevent abuse from happening.”; “I was thinking that maybe there should be a place for those elders to enjoy the time or to talk about their problems with people there to help.”
	Phone calls and hotlines	“I hope there is a bilingual hotline number to call, if anything comes up.”
Empowerment	Education	“Education is the first step. They (victims) need to have a clear understanding of what elder abuse is so that they know what is going on.”; “If everyone conforms to Chinese traditional values to respect seniors, there would be no abuse at all. Therefore, education is important. If we educate everyone, then we can stop abuse.”
	Counseling	“Counseling is important too, so that victims can talk freely about their distress and frustrations.”; “I think if a senior is abused, he/she will be very sad and painful. If we don’t provide counseling help, we will not be able to relate to that type of turmoil and provide solutions. So I think counseling will be really critical.”
	Enhance financial independence	“We need to improve the financial situations of abused seniors. If they can stand on their own feet financially, it may help them overcome abusive situations and decrease their risks to be victimized.”
Community-based intervention	Interventions delivered through community agencies	“I think the options we have may all be effective. But if I must pick one, I would think community-based intervention would work best in our community, since seniors always turn to community social services agencies for help.”; “I think the community-based intervention model would work. If seniors have problems, community organizations can always step in and help.”
	Integrate services to existing social service agencies	“I think we should educate homemakers about elder abuse. On the one hand, they can help us communicate and outreach to seniors. On the other hand, if they encounter any clients who may be victimized by abuse, they can help report the cases. Homemakers should be more aware of these types of issues and advocate for seniors.”
Advocacy	Understand current situation and identify potential solutions	“We need to provide seniors with viable solutions. This could be one of the most important methods. Make sure the seniors are willing to listen. Newspapers and advertisement may be important as ways to advocate for their rights. And provide them with potential solutions and ways out of the abusive relationships.”
Psychological intervention	Behavior activation	“It is important do something positive to alleviate their distress. For instance, I like painting. If I am distressed or frustrated, I would paint. It helps express my feelings and frustrations. These types of changes may help victims as well.”