Development and validation of the screening tool for identifying elder abuse by caregivers (STIEAC)

Oludoyinmola Omobolade Ojifinni and Obioma C Uchendu

PLOS ONE, 2026, vol. 21, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: Purpose: Elder abuse is a global concern, yet detection methods focus mainly on victims. In community settings, trusted caregivers may perpetrate abuse that remains hidden due to cultural norms. Existing tools lack a contextual fit for sub-Saharan Africa. This study developed and validated the Screening Tool for Identifying Elder Abuse by Caregivers (STIEAC) in Southwest Nigeria. Methods: The study used Artino’s seven-step questionnaire development framework, combining a literature review and caregiver focus groups to create culturally relevant items across the neglect, physical, psychological, financial, and sexual abuse domains. Expert panels ensured content and face validity, followed by pilot testing after which the revised tool was administered in a survey among 1119 caregivers. The psychometric evaluation included factor analysis, reliability (Cronbach’s alpha, Guttman split-half), and construct validity via correlations with the Zarit Burden, General Health Questionnaire-12, and Katz Activities of Daily Living scales. Results: The STIEAC’s 10-item structure encompasses the five elder abuse domains, demonstrating high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.90) and reliability (split-half coefficient = 0.713). Bartlett’s test was significant (χ² = 7642.08, p

Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0351005 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 51005&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0351005

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0351005

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().