Prevalence Of Elder Abuse Research Articles

A Community-Based Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study of Elder Abuse Perpetration or Victimization Among Elders in Ethiopia, 2022.

BackgroundElderly abuse and comorbid problematic substance use, disability, and physical and mental illness have been major problems in low-income countries. In most countries, the elderly are the most neglected segment of the population, and there is insufficient information about elderly abuse perpetration or victimization in low-income countries like Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess elderly abuse perpetration or victimization among the elderly in Mizan Aman town, southwest Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 268 elderly people from May to June, 2021, by using a systematic sampling technique. The elderly abuse and the ASSIST tools were used to assess the elderly abuse and khat, alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco use disorders, respectively. Moreover, multimorbidity and physical disability were also assessed. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and exported to the Statistical Package for Social Science Version 23. A logistic regression model was used to identify independent predictors of elderly abuse.ResultsThe prevalence of elder abuse was 41.8%, and the prevalence of poly substance, alcohol, khat, and tobacco use disorder was 32.5%, 19.4%, 12%, and 4.5%, respectively. Besides, the comorbidity of physical disability and multiple chronic diseases was 8% and 24.6%, respectively. Moreover, physical disability (AOR = 5.652, CI = 1.459, 21.894), multimorbidity (AOR = 3.972, CI = 1.898, 8.314), substance use disorder (AOR = 3.877, CI = 1.814, 8.286), age above 80 years (AOR = 8.452, CI = 2.273, 31.425), and poor social support (AOR = 3.372, CI = 1.043, 10.903) were positively associated with elderly abuse.ConclusionThe magnitude of elder abuse and comorbid multimorbidity, physical disability, and substance use disorder was high, and having multiple chronic diseases, physical disability, substance use disorder, advanced age, and poor social support were risk factors for elderly abuse.

Practices for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and Neglect

İnsan yaşamının bir evresi olan yaşlılık, bireyin toplum içerisinde sosyal rol kaybına uğradığı ve yeti yitimlerinin yaşandığı bu nedenle sosyal destek ihtiyacının artış gösterdiği bir dönemdir. Bu dönemde yaşlı ihmal ve istismarı yaşanan en önemli sorun olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Yaşlı ihmal ve istismarının bir sosyal sorun olarak politika ve toplum düzeyinde görünürlüğünün yeterli düzeyde olmadığı görülmektedir. Oysa çalışmalar yaşlı bakımının ve rehabilitasyonunun topluma ekonomik ve sosyal açıdan ciddi bir yük getirdiğini göstermekte ve istismarın daha gerçekleşmeden, önlenmesinin önemine vurgu yapmaktadır. Bu çalışmada yaşlı ihmal ve istismarını önleme uygulamalarının kapsamı, önemi, hedefleri ve önleme uygulamalarında kullanılabilecek müdahale yöntemleri hakkında bilgi verilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Önlemeye yönelik uygulamalar hakkında bilgi verilerek gerek yaşlının gerekse de toplumun bilgilendirilmesi, bunun yanında konuya ilişkin politika düzenlemelerine katkı sağlanması hedeflenmektedir. Çalışmada yaşlı istismarının uzun erimli bir süreç olduğu ve yaşlı istismarına müdahalede çok boyutlu ve çok disiplinli çalışmanın daha etkili olduğu bilgisine ulaşılmıştır. Sonuç olarak bu çalışmanın yaşlıların istismardan korunması ve sosyal işlevselliklerinin desteklenerek sosyal refahının sürdürülebilirliğine katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

Elder Abuse Prevalence and Related Risk Factors in Turkey: a Systematic Review

Elder Abuse Prevalence and Related Risk Factors in Turkey: a Systematic Review

Prevalence patterns and associated factors of elder abuse in an urban slum of eastern India

BackgroundThe prevalence of elder abuse in various parts of the world has been reported between 2.2 and 90.4%. According to some studies conducted in India, elder abuse prevalence ranges between 9.6 to 61.7%. Yet, elder abuse is an underreported issue. Most available evidence shows the involvement of close family members and caregivers in the abuse of older adults. Several factors associated with various forms of elder abuse need to be studied further. This study has attempted to capture the prevalence, pattern and associated factors of elder abuse in urban slums.MethodsThis study was a cross-sectional community-based study conducted between August 2019 to August 2020 in an urban field practice area of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar. It covers four wards of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, served by the Urban Primary Health Centre, IRC Village, Nayapalli. A total of 360 participants aged 60 years and above were included in this study. They were interviewed using various semi-structured interview schedules. Validated study tools such as Activities of Daily Living (ADL- Barthel Index), Hindi Mental Scale Examination (HMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale (VASS) were also used to assess various factors.ResultsApproximately one in five (19.4%) older adults reported some form of abuse. The types of elder abuse reported were physical abuse in 12 (3.3%), verbal abuse in 25 (6.9%), emotional abuse in 40 (11.1%), and financial abuse in 15 (4.2%) older adult participants. The sons and daughters-in-law of the older adult participants were the main perpetrators of abuse reported. Depression and past history of abuse were found significantly associated with any type of abuse.ConclusionsThe prevalence of elder abuse in this study was considerably high, with 70 (19.4%) out of the 360 participants reporting some form of abuse. Emotional abuse was the most reported, and physical abuse was the least reported type. The most common perpetrators were those on whom the older adults depended, like their sons and daughters-in-law.

Elder Abuse: A Global Challenge and Canada's Response.

Elder abuse is a global call to action. Nurses have a primary role to play in its detection and prevention. Globally, demographic change is creating an increasing number of older adults. Consequently, this increased number of people will be affected by age discrimination and ageism, both of which contribute to elder abuse. Despite the existence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, older adults are not recognized explicitly under the international human rights laws that legally oblige governments to address the rights of all people. Drawing initially on global conversations specific to elder abuse and the role of nurses, the current article explores the challenges of recognizing and combating elder abuse. To provide specific gerontological nursing strategies, recognition is given to actions implemented in Canada to address this major health challenge. The desired outcome is an advocacy framework for gerontological nurses to use in working toward the recognition and prevention of elder abuse. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 48(4), 21-25.].

Prevalence of elder abuse and its related factors in Iran: A community-based study

Prevalence of elder abuse and its related factors in Iran: A community-based study

The Effectiveness of the Integrated Care Model among Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Depression: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Depression is the second-leading cause of disability among older patients worldwide. This study examined the effectiveness of the Integrated Care Model (ICM) intervention in decreasing depression, suicide ideation, and psychological symptoms and improving life satisfaction among old patients with depression living in communities. The participants were allocated to either the intervention (n = 67) or control group (n = 76) from July 2018 to November 2018. All participants received the usual geriatric care for three months in eastern Taiwan. Additionally, participants in the intervention group were treated according to the ICM, including the assessment and management of health problems, improvements in spiritual and mental wellbeing, helping with activities of daily life and mobility, providing social welfare resources, and prevention of elder abuse. The patients in the experimental group showed significant improvement in the group-by-time effect on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Brief Symptom Rating Scale, suicide ideation measures, and the Life Satisfaction Index over 18 weeks. The ICM should be included in routine geriatric care and adopted in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and communities

The prevalence of elder abuse and neglect in rural areas: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Many epidemiological studies have reported that elder abuse and neglect were prevalent in rural areas. However, none of them has synthesized the literature in this field. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the overall prevalence of elder abuse and neglect in rural areas through a systematic review and meta-analysis. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched to identify eligible articles, with no language restrictions. Statistical analyses were conducted using Review Manager software (version 5.3). Meta-analyses and sensitivity analysis were performed using a random-effects model. All results were reported as the pooled prevalence of elder and neglect with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The quality of the included studies was evaluated by strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) checklist. Potential publication bias was assessed by the funnel plot. 13 cross-sectional studies involving 10,313 participants were eligible. The prevalence of elder abuse and neglect ranged from 4.5 to 61.7% across the rural areas, and pooled prevalence estimate was 33% (95% CI 23-43). The prevalence of physical abuse was estimated at 7% (95% CI 5-9), financial abuse at 5% (95% CI 4-7), psychological/emotional abuse at 17% (95% CI 11-23), and neglect at 26% (95% CI 17-35). There was significant heterogeneity among the included studies. Stratified analyses revealed that sampling design was part of the heterogeneity source. WHO regions, gender, countries' income classification, and study quality could not explain the potential reasons for heterogeneity. The pooled prevalence of elder abuse and neglect was relatively high in rural areas. Early and targeted screening and prevention are needed. There is an urgent need for high quality studies using agreed definition of elder abuse and neglect to protect the potential high risk populations.

Elder abuse/mistreatment and associated covariates in India: results from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India wave 1, 2017-2018.

OBJECTIVESElder abuse has significant adverse consequences for the overall health and well-being of the elderly, including premature mortality. Using cross-sectional data, we assessed the prevalence of elder abuse in India, its variation across states, and associated factors.METHODSNationally representative data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India were analyzed. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to study the prevalence, state variations, and associated factors of elder abuse.RESULTSOverall, 5.2% of elderly adults (≥60 years) had experienced abuse in the year prior to the survey and 3% had experienced abuse within their own household. Verbal abuse or disrespect was the most common form of abuse. Considerable variation was observed in the prevalence of elder abuse across states and union territories, with the highest prevalence observed in Bihar (11.6%) and Karnataka (10.1%). In regression analysis, education level emerged as a protective factor against elder abuse, particularly among women. Older adults who lived alone, had functional limitations, had multiple morbidities, and had been hospitalized in the past year were more likely to experience abuse. Older adults who experienced abuse were 2 times more likely to experience depressive symptoms.CONCLUSIONSCross-state variation in the prevalence of elder abuse and subgroup differences suggest that state-specific interventions and essential monitoring of older adults with functional limitations, chronic diseases, and recent hospitalization can further reduce the prevalence and consequences of elder abuse in India.

Travesty of Life Elders Abuse an Inquiry of Physical and Psychological Abuse.

Elder abuse is evil in human society. The present paper unveils this social issue from two major factors psychological and physical abuse. The study sensitizes the subject matter of study by examining the effects of demographic variables like gender and age on elders. For achieving the purpose of the study the research is a design by exploring and validating the factors of measuring elder abuse through the mix method approach, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). To test the established hypotheses of the effects of the demographic variable on elders the two-way ANOVA was applied. The present study verdicts the development of a sound measurement scale with two influence factors. The separate and composite effect of aging and gender type on elder abuse was evidenced. These findings are crucial especially when the prevalence of elder abuse is higher during COVID-19. The limited novel understudied variable opens an avenue for further research in behavioral and demographic variables like marital status. The present study has practical insinuation for caring the elders in any human society like physical and psychological treatment of elders to avoid abusive situations. In addition, the study attempts to validate the novel issues like psychological and physical abuse of elders in the dimensions of demographic variables. Some rare studies in the Indian continent established the motivation of conducting the research on this dimension.

Elder abuse in rural Belagavi: A community-based cross-sectional study

Background: Elder abuse is defined by the WHO as: “a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.” Elder abuse has always been considered a western problem and its existence in India has never been acknowledged seriously. The present study aimed to find the prevalence of elder abuse and assess the sociodemographic determinants for the same. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among 400 in elderly population of age ≥60 years, residing for at least 1 year in rural field practice areas of primary health-care Vantamuri in Belagavi taluka and district, Karnataka state, India, by systematic random sampling from January 1, to December 30, 2020. A set of pretested standardized questionnaires consisting of three parts, including “Modified Geriatric Mistreatment Scale” to assess the elder abuse prevalence, were used. Statistical analysis was done by using rates, proportions, and percentages, and the association was tested with Chi-square test and binary logistic regression. Results: Among the 400 elderly participants, the overall prevalence of elder abuse was found to be 68 (17%). Among all these cases, maximum number of them were facing psychological abuse (59, 52%), followed by economic exploitation (24, 21%), neglect (23, 20%), and physical abuse (8, 7%). None of the participants had experienced sexual abuse. Statistically significant association was present between the occurrence of abuse and sociodemographic characteristics such as age ≥70 years, illiteracy, elderly living with family/spouse, and living in a house owned by spouse/others or a rented place. Conclusion: The prevalence of elder abuse was found to be low (17%) as compared to what was expected (35%). Elder abuse exists in India in various forms, and it is imperative to form new policies and strategies by the government, police, health administration, and NGOs to prevent abuse of elderly population in rural India.

Interface of Law and Psychiatric Problems in the Elderly.

Interface of Law and Psychiatric Problems in the Elderly.

Increased Prevalence of Elder Abuse Following the COVID-19 Pandemic? The Merits and Implications for Public Health Practice

Family members regularly mistreat the elderly who rely on them because they lack financial stability and believe that seeking aid will exacerbate their predicament. Elder abuse studies conducted in the last two years indicate that an increased number of elderly citizens have been abused since the COVID-19 outbreak, and many of them did not receive assistance from agencies responding to abuse because they did not report any incidents and did not have access to a phone, even if they desired it. Researchers think that an increase in elder maltreatment is being fuelled, in part, by directives to shelter in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing restrictions and lockdowns worldwide. While the UN acknowledges domestic violence against women as a "shadow pandemic," elder abuse may be just as dangerous. This article highlights elder abuse by doing a critical review of some of the recent studies conducted preceding to and during the outbreak of COVID-19. Its purpose is to critically examine existing claims that elder abuse has increased in prevalence since the coronavirus outbreak, to highlight critical public health implications, and to suggest additional initiatives for the early detection and management of elder abuse.

A Study on Trends in the Number and Content of Journal Article Titles Containing the Term “Elder Abuse”

Japan enacted the Elder Abuse Prevention Law on April 1, 2006; no amendments have been made since then. The purpose of this study is to examine trends in the number and content of journal article titles containing the term “elder abuse” and determine what further research is needed to identify where amendments to the law would be useful. We identified 986 articles using the CiNii database between the dates of 2005 to 2020. We categorized those titles by content, using a KJ Method. Preliminary analyses revealed that the average number of the articles published each year was 61.6, though a moving average of the numbers of articles on elder abuse has been steadily declining, as opposed to the average number for child abuse articles, 158, where the moving average staying the same. As for the analyses for the titles, they were categorized into 10 categories, including “law,” “responses of professional personnel to elder abuse,” “systems of government agencies,” “responses of nurses,” “institutional elder abuse,” “support for caregivers,” “reports on elder abuse in other countries,” “dementia and elder abuse,” “responses of medical institutions,” and “others.” It is suggested that more research needs to be done, especially in such areas as “verification of elder abuse cases,” “psychological impacts on elder abuse victims,” “empirical research conducted by medical doctors dealing with elder abuse cases,” and “cooperation between police and professional institutions,” many of which were found in research on child abuse where 4 law amendments have been made since its enactment of 2000.

Structural and Individual Ageism Predicts Elder Abuse Proclivity and Perpetration

Considering that elder abuse affects one in six older persons worldwide, a need exists to identify factors that predict this abuse. Previous studies have found that ageism operates at both structural (i.e., societal-level stigmatizing views toward older persons) and individual levels (i.e., negative age beliefs) to affect health. However, it was not known whether and if so, how these two levels work together to impact perpetrators committing elder abuse. Thus, examining the mechanism between ageism and elder abuse was the aim of the current study. We hypothesized that structural and individual ageism would simultaneously predict elder abuse. In addition, following Stereotype Embodiment Theory, the impact of structural ageism on elder abuse would be mediated by individual ageism. In Sample 1, participants described their proclivity to abuse older people if they could do so without punishment (n=1,580). In Sample 2, family caregivers described actual abuse of their older care recipients (n=400). Overall, elder abuse proclivity (33% in Sample 1) and perpetration (56% in Sample 2) were prevalent. As hypothesized, structural ageism and individual ageism simultaneously predicted elder abuse proclivity and perpetration. Also as predicted, individual ageism significantly mediated the association between structural ageism and elder abuse in both samples. This the first study that examined the mechanistic pathways between structural and individual levels of ageism in the context of elder abuse. Effective solutions to prevent elder abuse should incorporate upstream interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of ageism.

An Examination of the Relationship between Depression, Loneliness, and Sociability in the Old Aged Community of District DG Khan

The present study was aimed to assess depression, loneliness, and sociability among elderly people, as well as to assess the prevalence of elder abuse, and to draw conclusions about quality of life and its effect on elderly health in DG Khan's Tehsil Taunsa Sharif. The current research was conducted for pure academic purpose by 1st author and the results of this study were extracted from that academic dissertation. Moreover, this study was supervised by 2nd author and 3rd author contributed in analysis part of this research. In this regard, study was preceded by using quantitative research design. A sample of 200 elderly people was surveyed (both male and female at the time of interview). The elderly were interviewed with the help of their relatives. The interview schedule was used to collect data. Analysis of the data was carried out using the SPSS Software 21. The data was analyzed using the univariate regression test and the multivariate binary logistic regression test. The results of the binary logistic regression test showed that sociability get decreased as people age, depression and loneliness increased. Moreover, advancement in education of the respondents led to decrease in respondent’s depression, loneliness and sociability. Life satisfaction was affected by health and social support in different ways, depending on the person major determinants, such as education and nationality, as well as savings, income, frequency of contact with their children or relatives and neighbors, the number of known and trusted people in a village or city, as well as physical and mental health, were unaffected by age and gender. Additionally, it is recommended that in addition to primary care, health stakeholders should focus on health programs for the health promotion of elderly in order to protect the elderly from serious health problems, especially mental health problems.

The Prevalence and Associated Factors of Elderly Abuse: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: The prevalence of elderly abuse varies between 2.2% and 30.1% in European countries. There is a limited number of studies that have investigated elderly abuse in Turkey. The aim of this study is to detect the prevalence and risk factors of elder abuse, identify the factors that can affect elderly abuse, and assess the possible measures to prevent this problem.
 Methods: We stratified the districts enrolled in family health centers to ensure that participants were from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds of Edirne and formed a representative sample of 211 people. In addition to sociodemographic characteristics, our survey consisted of the Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test, the Geriatric Depression Scale-short form, the Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination, the Barthel Index for activities of daily living, and the Lawton-Brody instrumental activities of daily living scale.
 Results: The prevalence of elderly abuse was determined as 9.9%, and high abuse risk was 15.2%. We found that abuse risk was higher among older people who had no social security, lived alone, were abused physically or emotionally before, reported having bad family relations, and had fewer rooms at home which leads to a lack of privacy. Furthermore, we found significant relationships between abuse risk and the depression score.
 Conclusion: Elderly abuse is a risk for every person regardless of gender, education level, and economic status. As an invisible problem for societies, elderly abuse brings a great burden by leading to the loss of physical, mental, and psychological health. Preventive measures should be the primary goal. All results suggest that governments, non-governmental organizations, and health care providers should combat this problem by increasing patient literacy and ensuring lifestyle changes.

Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007: A Critical Appraisal.

Background:The sociocultural changes associated with globalization and development have weakened the traditional values and family support systems for senior citizens (age 60 years and above). There is an increase in the prevalence of elder abuse and difficulties in getting appropriate care and support. This has mandated legal measures to protect the rights of the senior citizens and provide them care and support by the family and other stakeholders. Consequent to being the signatory for the “Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002,” several countries, including India, have introduced legislation for the social protection of senior citizens. “The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens(MWP) Act, 2007” is an important legislation in India to safeguard the elderly from exploitation and abuse.Methods:This article critically evaluates the implementation of the MWP Act, 2007, and the related challenges in protecting senior citizens from abuse. The article will also highlight the proposed amendments in the Act to strengthen the effective implementation of legal protection for senior citizens and ensure their well-being and dignity.Conclusions:The MWP act is an important legal measure to ensure mainatinence and welfare of senior citizens and protect them from abuse and neglect. There is an immediate need to incorporate the necessary amendments so that the act gets more pragmatic value and becomes and important tool for elderly care and protection and reduce vulnerabilities and ensure holistic care with support in various bio-psycho-social domains.

189Mobilizing for change through UM PEACE (Prevent Elder Abuse and negleCt initiativE) Program

Abstract Focus of Presentation Elder abuse and neglect (EAN) includes psychological, physical, sexual abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. Malaysia – projected to become an aged nation by 2030 – is not spared. PEACE focuses on protecting elder rights, empowering the community to be actively engaged in elderly issues, and refining the Malaysian law to address existing gaps. Findings Our cohort study revealed that the overall lifetime prevalence of EAN (abuse episodes ever experienced from the age 60) was 8.1% with 4.8%, 3.4%, 1.2%, 0.3% and 1.1% for financial abuse, psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect respectively. Perpetrators tend to be family members (adult children) and abuse usually occurs at home. Premature mortality are shown higher among victims. From the legal perspective, the only existing act addressing family violence is the Domestic Violence Act (DVA 1994) and Penal Code. The DVA is neither adequate nor specific to EAN and dynamics of elder abuse. Our findings were presented to the relevant stakeholders including the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. Using four main approaches - making findings understandable to policymakers, increasing opportunities for interaction, addressing barriers and ensuring research is relevant allows better communication between researchers and policy makers and ensuring evidence are translated to policy. PEACE are working on drafting the new Elder Act which will be ready by 2021. Conclusions/Implications The PEACE program is an example of how a complex health problem should be addressed. Better communication strategies and multiple interactions between policy makers and PEACE researchers is key to our impactful research. Key messages Dissemination approaches should be timely and consistent with culture to translate research evidence to policy. Protecting the well-being and dignity of our elders is not only a question of conscience or morality, but also a matter of upholding human rights and justice.

Not that old person: Older people’s responses to ageism revealed through digital storytelling

One of the issues limiting prevention of elder abuse in Australia is lack of a strong evidence base to target social drivers of abuse, particularly ageism. This evidence gap is exacerbated by social discourses that perpetuate negative representations of older age as a time of vulnerability and physical decline, often in opposition to people’s actual experience of ageing. This article presents findings of the ‘OPERA Project’, which used co-designed digital storytelling to explore how ageing and ageism are perceived by older people. The project findings indicated that preventing elder abuse requires discursive intervention to combat negative social discourses representing older people, and to frame social acceptance of the inherent complexity of experiences of ageing. Using a social constructionist approach, this article puts forward a ‘middle path’ through traditional theories of ageing and associated ‘positive ageing’ discourses, which often problematise ageing itself.