Abstract
Healthcare workers have reported a certain segment of geriatric patients that are suffering from abuse/neglect, which in turn has been associated with anxiety, depression, and helplessness in the individual. Family caregivers (blood relations), being the most common perpetrators of elder abuse and neglect (EAN), have also been shown to respond to sensitization if the type of EAN and the interventions are appropriate. This study was aimed to comparatively analyze the influence of intervention (psychotherapeutic sensitization of FCG) upon long-term (24 months) treatment maintenance and satisfaction in elderly neglected patients. One hundred and fifty patients (aged 41–80 years) suffering from elder neglect (EN) (self-confession) and their respective FCGs, fulfilling the study criteria, participated in this longitudinal 2-year study. The patients were randomly distributed (simple random, convenient) in two equal groups (75 each), namely Group (GP) A (control) and GP B (test). A standardized, complete denture treatment was initiated for all the participants. Both the FCGs and the patients of GP B were sensitized (psychotherapeutic education) for EN, while there was no such intervention in GP A. The influence of such intervention was measured for denture maintenance [denture plaque index (DPI) scores] and treatment satisfaction (10-point visual analog scale). Absolute/relative frequencies and means were major calculations during data analysis. Differences between the groups for any treatment compliance parameter was done through the unpaired t-test, while Karl Pearson’s test determined the level of relationship between variables (p-value < 0.05). Decrease in mean DPI scores (suggesting improvement) was seen among patients in GP A from 1 month (m = 2.92) to 24 months (m = 2.77). A negligible increase in DPI scores was observed among patients of GP B from 1 month (m = 1.38) to 24 months (m = 1.44). Differences in mean values between the two groups were statistically significant at 24-month intervals, while the relationship between the variables was nonsignificant. FCG sensitization through psychotherapeutic education shows a long-term positive influence on the treatment compliance (maintenance and satisfaction). Identifying the existence of EAN among geriatric patients, followed by psychotherapeutic education of FCGs is recommended for routine medical and dental long-duration treatment procedures.
Highlights
Humans have always been fascinated by life and death, and across various civilizations, efforts have been made to conquer both
A higher frequency of illiterate patients was in GP B (90.6%) than GP A (82.6%), while the differences between the level of literacy was negligible among FCGs between both groups
Patients were identified and treated for complete denture prosthetic treatment, during which their respective FCGs were sensitized and the shortterm (1 month) influence of this variable on treatment compliance was measured for denture maintenance and treatment satisfaction [14]
Summary
Humans have always been fascinated by life and death, and across various civilizations, efforts have been made to conquer both. Increased life expectancy has not, though, achieved a prolonged, youthful age. Projections for developed nations such as the United States and developing countries such as India predict that elderly people will constitute about 20% and 12% of their entire population respectively by the year 2050 [1,2]. Taking care of such vast elderly populations in the future is going to be a challenge, especially in sensitive and critical social issues such as elder abuse and neglect (EAN).
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