What does DETECT stand for?

DETECT stands for The Detection of Elder Abuse Through Emergency Care Technicians.

What is the goal of DETECT?

DETECT is a tool that MedStar medics may use while responding to an emergency call to help identify elders who could be living with different forms of mistreatment. Elder mistreatment should be reported to Adult Protective Services (APS) to further help those being affected.

What is elder abuse or mistreatment?

The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) describes elder abuse or mistreatment as harming of an elderly person physically, emotionally, or sexually. Forms of mistreatment also include neglect and misuse of finances.

There is no universal definition for elder mistreatment and legal definitions vary from state to state.

Why is DETECT important?

Cases of elder mistreatment are difficult to find and even harder to report to the authorities.

Elders who live with mistreatment are more likely to have physical injuries, mental health issues, trouble with daily tasks, sickness, and early death. They also have increased emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and nursing home admissions.

DETECT helps to raise awareness of elder mistreatment, find and report cases, and prevent more mistreatment from happening.

Who contacted me or left me a voice mail?

You recently used MedStar’s emergency medical services and were contacted by the emergency medical technicians/paramedics at MedStar for an interview.

Why was I contacted?

During MedStar’s response to your emergency call, you were pre-screened for possible elder mistreatment. You may qualify to take part in the DETECT study if you are 65 years of age or older, living in Tarrant County, Texas.

What will I be asked to do?

First, a health and safety interview will be done over the phone. If you agree to take part in the study, you will go on with the interview process. A trained paramedic will visit your home to see if signs of possible mistreatment are present in your physical and/or social surroundings.

Will I be compensated for participating?

Participants who finish a one hour in-person interview with a MedStar community paramedic will be given a $25 gift card.