Editorial

Welcome to the final issue of the journal for this year, which seems to have passed remarkably quickly. In this issue we are pleased to include several research papers on the broad topic of abuse and safeguarding, reflecting work and developments that are happening in several different countries. We hope these will be of interest to readers and cover the wide range that relates to different aspects of safeguarding.

This issue also marks the final issue and last official Editorial produced by me as the Main Editor for the journal in recent years. I have been a member of the Journal Editorial board since it was established in 1999, way back in the latter stages of the last century, when what was then known as adult protection was arguably in its infancy in the UK in terms of recognition, even on a professional level, as an issue in need of attention. Over the years I have seen the field of adult protection transform into adult safeguarding and have been privileged to act as the journal’s Main Editor, helping to shape its development into its commanding position as the only UK journal focusing on the topic of adult safeguarding, including perspectives and developments in safeguarding, adult protection, mental capacity and related areas and with an increasing and valuable number of contributions, including international papers. The journal was established to include research, policy and practice-related papers and continues to provide original and useful perspectives on practice related matters, which are appreciated by the professional readership that regularly access the journal.

At the end of the year, I will be handing over to Ian Cummins as the incoming Main Editor, who will take the reins and guide JAP through the coming years. Ian has been a committed member of the Editorial Board for many years, and more recently an Associate Editor and his support has been valued and appreciated. He will be supported in his role by additional editorial team members, to be appointed in the coming months. Although I am in some ways sad to be stepping down after many years, initially joining the Board as a Book Review Editor and subsequently acting as Co-Editor with Margaret Flynn ^[1] and then Editor, I leave knowing that you are in good hands with Ian and other Board members involved. As I reflect over the past years as Editor, I realise how lucky I have been to work with the dedicated Emerald Team for the journal and the great group of volunteers that make up the Editorial Board and those who contribute (and have contributed) their time and commitment to reviewing papers submitted to the journal or undertaking Book Reviews.

Acting as Editor has been a privilege and a great opportunity to witness the development of the area in recent decades and to see advances in the scientific evidence base, scholarship and practice in the field. The journal has contributed to this development, and I’m pleased to have been able to provide some stewardship with this over the years. Being part of this broad community of practice in this time has been instructive and illuminating and both academically and professionally fulfilling. However, as Editor there are also responsibilities, including, for example those relating to publishing ethics, and the need at times to highlight inappropriate practices, such as occasional episodes of plagiarism, as well as duplicative publishing or detecting and rejecting papers from paper-mills. Such elements are now a standard part of the territory of publishing and need careful attention and engagement by Editors and publishers, who accept these requirements.

My thanks are due to the sterling work of our Associate Editors and Guest Editors of our Special Issues for the positive impact that they have had on the journal’s content and standards over the years. I’d also like to record my gratitude to our reviewers from around the world who continue to provide constructive and thoughtful reviews of submitted manuscripts (and relevant books) that we receive for review, particularly as we know that this is often perceived as a thankless task. For some papers, obtaining two reviewers, including practitioner perspectives as appropriate, may require contact with more than a small number of reviewers and can take some time to achieve. Further, in some situations completion and submission of reviews may also take some time (for several different reasons). And even in these difficult and challenging times for individuals across both the academic and practice communities, please know that you are needed and your input is much appreciated. Authors and readers, please remember that we also need your continued engagement with the journal, you are an essential element here and are respected as such!

Before moving on to an outline of the papers included in this issue, I want to take a moment to especially thank Jo Sharrocks (Senior Commissioning Editor) and Vicki Williams (Editorial Assistant), for their long-standing support and service to the journal. Both began their roles with JAP when it commenced as a publication with the Pavilion group and continued to work to support the journal and the editorial team when it moved to become part of the Emerald publishing group. They have been invaluable in supporting and guiding the Editors, Associate Editors and Editorial Board members and their continuing commitment to the journal is very much appreciated and recognised. There is no doubt that it has contributed to the establishment of the journal as an important part of the Emerald journal portfolio collection on health and care and the Sustainable Development Healthier Lives group of journals, which has been great to see.

The first paper in this issue is by Alyson Norman and colleagues from the University of Plymouth and a Kent-based provider organisation. This is a research paper that reports on a study on individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) and safeguarding related issues. The study was undertaken in the UK to explore the experiences of brain injury case managers in raising safeguarding concerns relating to their clients with ABI with local authority safeguarding services. Methods used in the study were mixed, using both quantitative and qualitative methods; these consisted of an online survey about concerns and practices in relation to the safeguarding of case manager clients and a small number of semi-structured interviews respectively. The qualitative data from both phases was combined and analysed thematically, whereas the quantitative survey data was analysed separately and descriptively.

The results established that quite a high number of client-related safeguarding concerns were raised by case managers over the course of a 12-month period (prior to the study taking place), and these concerns were all reported as related to clients’ cognitive and behavioural difficulties. The concerns were largely connected with emotional, psychological and financial aspects of safeguarding. Staff within statutory social care services were reported as having a lack of understanding about ABI and failed to communicate or satisfactorily assess mental capacity during investigations so that generally responses to safeguarding concerns raised were viewed as inadequate. The paper contains some useful suggestions about how improvements relating to this sector could be made and how outcomes for clients/service users with ABI might be improved.

The second paper in the issue is by Kraiwoot Wattanasin and colleague from the Royal Police Academy in Thailand. It reports on a study that was conducted to explore the role of law enforcement in the protection of the rights of older people in Thailand. Although elder abuse is reported to the police at local levels, and police are seen as obvious first responders in such situations, officers are not routinely trained in the protection of older people – especially in relation to emotional/psychological abuse or financial exploitation. The study was undertaken to examine these issues, and a mixed-methods design was used, consisting of a face-to-face survey conducted with 500 older adults. The survey included perspectives and experiences of elder abuse, legal knowledge and perceptions about police involvement in situations of protection of older adults. It was supplemented through use of a small number of key informant interviews that were undertaken with police officers, legal professionals, medical staff and social workers. The most common types of abuse reported by older people responding to the survey were emotional/psychological and financial abuse and exploitation, with some interesting findings relating to perceptions of police effectiveness. Some of the key qualitative findings indicated that there were challenges in connection with a perceived lack of inter-agency co-ordination and the burnout of police officers. Cultural issues relating to elder abuse, together with perceptions of family violence as a private concern were also raised as creating difficulties on occasion. The paper concludes with some useful recommendations for practice improvements in this area of safeguarding, including those relating to revised inter-agency protocols, training and the establishment of elder protection units within the police force.

Readers will be aware that normally each issue of this journal contains four papers; for reasons beyond the control of the Editor, Editorial Board and production staff, this issue is restricted to two papers. The papers that have been postponed, including those Viewpoint papers in the series of interviews about topics relating to the development and history of Adult Safeguarding, will appear in the first issues of next year. Please be assured that this does not indicate a change of policy, nor is it a reflection of the quantity or quality of the papers submitted to this journal.

Colleagues look forward to providing the first issue of the next volume in the early months of the new year. The issue will include further topics related to the range of concerns that comprise adult safeguarding, as well as a further Viewpoint paper as outlined above. Finally, we hope that the winter months will be both healthy and successful for all. With my final sign off, now as the outgoing Editor, my thanks to all readers and contributors for your continuing support for the journal; I look forward to seeing it continue to flourish.

Bridget Penhale

October 2025