The National Swedish Institute of Statistics conducted telephone interviews with 943 men and women between 18 and 74 years of age. The Danish National Institute of Statistics carried out a similar survey of 1,535 men and women, 16 years of age and older. Questions were asked about respondent knowledge of physically battered, threatened, economically abused, robbed, or severely neglected elderly persons. In both Sweden and Denmark, 8 percent of the respondents reported knowledge of mistreatment cases that had occurred within the preceding 12 months. Perpetrators were unknown persons, family members, and various types of care providers. In Sweden, perpetrators in 20 percent of the cases were in the staff category, whereas in Denmark the figure was 6 percent. This difference may have been due to the fact that a larger proportion of home helpers in Denmark receive formal training. Theft and economic abuse were the most frequent types of elder mistreatment, and staff were among the perpetrators. Survey results demonstrate that home helpers and other staff working in elderly people's homes cannot be excluded as a source of elder abuse and that authorities must recognize this problem. 8 references, 4 tables. (Author abstract modified)