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Abstract: 

In late 2007, the dormant Research Committee of the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) was about to be reborn. Kathleen Quinn, NAPSA Executive Director, asked the author of this article to chair the committee. She had retired from her position as an APS administrator and had a longstanding interest in elder abuse research. She asserts here that, over the span of many years working with and for APS, two key concerns became repeated themes without resolution. First, in responding to maltreated older adults, we do not really know what works with whom, when, and why. Second, this is a problem and a population that is very complex to study in a research design. The combination of these two themes resulted in very little direction for APS staff seeking best practice models using applied research. She accepted the position. She describes here the work of that committee, its principles, guidelines, and direction. The full text of that committee’s statement, “Guiding Principles for Research in APS” appears adjacent to the article.

Keywords: National Adult Protective Services Association; NAPSA; Kathleen Quinn

Affiliations:  1: NAPSA/NCPEA Research Committee.