A nurse who specialises in safeguarding has won a grant to explore domestic abuse in older people.

Zoe Cooper, from Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT), will be working with the University of Plymouth to review the literature available on the impact of recent legislative changes in domestic abuse policy on older people.

The information will help inform a ‘Task and Finish’ group on what factors to consider when designing support services, as well as understanding why someone experiencing domestic abuse may not choose to access them.

Zoe will be undertaking the work after winning the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Systematic Review Training Prize from the Clinical School at RCHT.

A lead safeguarding nurse at RCHT, she said: ‘When people think of domestic abuse, it’s often depicted as a younger or middle-aged person suffering – and a lot of resources are indeed geared up for younger women.

‘But it’s important to acknowledge that domestic abuse can take many forms and be experienced by many people.

‘There could be dozens of reasons why someone older might not want to access help – for example, cultural differences suggest that they don’t want to leave a marriage or seek help, as it could be admitting they’re failing.

‘So by exploring the literature available, we can have a better picture of what the problems are and how to help.’