CASE: Caregiving Abuse Screen

What is CASE?

The Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) is a screening measure for detecting abuse of seniors. It is intended for use with all clients who are caregivers of seniors, whether or not abuse is suspected. The “Yes” responses on each of the eight CASE items may stimulate discussion that reveals abuse and/or neglect that might otherwise have gone undetected.

In addition to indicating current abuse by caregivers, caregiver responses to CASE may be indicative of tendencies and stresses that could lead to possible abuse in the future. In such cases, a proactive approach to intervention may help prevent the development of abuse.

Interpretation: After a caregiver completes the entire screen, the “Yes” responses are tallied; the more “Yes” responses, the more likely the presence of abuse. Each “Yes” response should also be probed for clinical information. To further assess the situation, the worker should ask the caregiver to explain his or her answer.

Drs. Myrna Reis and Daphne Nahmiash developed the Project CARE screening tools (of which CASE is one) and the intervention model. These were developed in a local community-based health and social service agency (CLSC NDG/Montreal West) to identify suspected abuse victims and to establish preliminary protocols and intervention techniques.

Extracted from Myrna Reis and Daphne Nahmiash, When Seniors Are Abused (Toronto: Captus Press, 1995, pp. 15-26). Reproduced with permission.

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Please answer the following questions

as a helper or caregiver:
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1 Do you sometimes have trouble making ______________ control his/her temper or aggression?
Yes ❒ No ❒  
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2 Do you often feel you are being forced to act out of character or do things you feel badly about?
Yes ❒ No ❒
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3 Do you find it difficult to manage ___________________ ’s behaviour?
Yes ❒ No ❒
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4 Do you sometimes feel that you are forced to be rough with ___________________ ?

Yes ❒ No ❒

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5 Do you sometimes feel that you can’t do what is really necessary or what should be done for _______________ ?

Yes ❒ No ❒

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6 Do you often feel you have to reject or ignore ___________________ ?

Yes ❒ No ❒

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7 Do you often feel so tired and exhausted that you cannot meet ________________ ’s needs?

Yes ❒ No ❒

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8 Do you often feel you have to yell at _________________ ?

Yes ❒ No ❒