Paramedic Roles, Purpose, and Practices When Responding to Older Adults in Abusive Contexts: A Systematic Review

Megan De Silva; Aidan Peters; Benjamin De Waal; Lloyd Christopher; Navindhra Naidoo

doi:10.1177/07334648251330347

Paramedic Roles, Purpose, and Practices When Responding to Older Adults in Abusive Contexts: A Systematic Review

Megan De Silva
, Aidan Peters
, Benjamin De Waal
, Lloyd Christopher
, Navindhra Naidoo

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Older adults are disproportionately exposed to increased harm and adverse outcomes in abusive contexts. This systematic review aimed to explore and evaluate current literature on the role of paramedics responding to older adults in abusive contexts, with a specific focus on the vulnerability-reducing and protective potential of paramedics. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken using the Joanna Briggs Institute Systematic Review Guidelines. From an initial yield of 584 results, 18 sources of evidence met the criteria for inclusion and subsequent data extraction. Predominantly North-American literature indicated that older adults experience nuanced, disproportionate and complex vulnerability in abusive contexts, and that paramedics have a poorly defined and inconsistently applied duty of care. Consequently, this systematic review provides key recommendations for enhancing the capacity of paramedics to respond to the unmet needs and vulnerabilities of older adults either experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	110-121
Number of pages	12
Journal	Journal of Applied Gerontology
Volume	45
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648251330347
Publication status	Published - Jan 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

abuse and neglect
health disparities
health outcomes
quality of life
systematic review

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10.1177/07334648251330347

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title = "Paramedic Roles, Purpose, and Practices When Responding to Older Adults in Abusive Contexts: A Systematic Review",

abstract = "Older adults are disproportionately exposed to increased harm and adverse outcomes in abusive contexts. This systematic review aimed to explore and evaluate current literature on the role of paramedics responding to older adults in abusive contexts, with a specific focus on the vulnerability-reducing and protective potential of paramedics. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken using the Joanna Briggs Institute Systematic Review Guidelines. From an initial yield of 584 results, 18 sources of evidence met the criteria for inclusion and subsequent data extraction. Predominantly North-American literature indicated that older adults experience nuanced, disproportionate and complex vulnerability in abusive contexts, and that paramedics have a poorly defined and inconsistently applied duty of care. Consequently, this systematic review provides key recommendations for enhancing the capacity of paramedics to respond to the unmet needs and vulnerabilities of older adults either experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect.",

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N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

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Paramedic Roles, Purpose, and Practices When Responding to Older Adults in Abusive Contexts: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

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