GeriHITSS$: A Brief, Reliable Tool for Identifying Elder Abuse in Clinical Practice

ObjectiveElder abuse is a prevalent but underrecognized public health issue. This pilot reliability study aimed to develop the GeriHITSS$, a six-item screening questionnaire to identify forms of abuse experienced by geriatric populations, adapted from the well-established, valid, and reliable HITS screening tool.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted including 199 primary care patients aged 65 and over recruited from two family medicine clinics in the Southwestern United States between April and December 2023. Participants completed the GeriHITSS$, which assessed physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, and financial abuse.ResultsThe study sample had an average age of 72.5 years (SD = 5.77) and were predominantly female (60.1%). Emotional abuse was the most frequently reported, while physical abuse, sexual abuse, and financial abuse were less frequent. The GeriHITSS$ demonstrated acceptable internal reliability (α = .721). Scale scores were not significantly linked to participant sex, race, nor age.ConclusionsGeriHITSS$ is a reliable screening tool to detect elder abuse in outpatient primary care settings. Incorporating routine screening may enhance early detection and support interventions to address this critical health concern.