BACKGROUND:
Elder abuse or elder mistreatment is one of the most important problems encountered by the elderly. It includes harms by people the older person knows such as spouse, partner, family members, neighbor or people that older person relies on for services.
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study was to determine the abuse to which elder people were exposed and its relation with age, sex, marital status, economic income and education. The study increased awareness and helping families, relatives of the elderly, professionals, social workers, nurses, doctors and counselors about elder abuse.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
The present cross- sectional study was carried out on 300 elderly patients of age range 60-84 years attending geriatric clinic Baghdad Teaching Hospital from April to August 2019 who answered face to face survey questionnaires to elicit elder abuse.
RESULTS:
This study showed that 66.2% of elderly abused patients experienced more than one type of abuse. Majority of the patients were victims of abandonment abuse (70.3%), followed by financial abuse (25.3%), emotional abuse (21%) neglected (10.3%) and physical abuse (7%). There was a significant relationship between sex, marital status, economic income and education of the elderly and being abused.
CONCLUSION:
Abuse of the elderly is an important social and public health issue. Elderly abused patients experienced more than one type of abuse. There was a significant association with gender, widow, divorced, poor economic income and low level of education.
|
References
- Hall JE, Karch DL, Crosby AE. Elder abuse surveillance: Uniform definitions and recommended core data elements. In: Houry D, Mercy J. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention. Version1. Atalanto: Georgia; 2016. p. 1-124.
- World Health Organization. Elder Abuse; 2018[cited2018Dec3].Available from: https:\\www.who.int\en\news-room\fact-sheets\detail\elder-abuse.
- Hardin E, Khan-Hudson A. Elder abuse- Society Dilemma.Journal of the National Medical Association 2005; 97(1):91-94.
- Seth N, Yadav A, Adichwal NK, Kamble SB. Elder abuse and its association with socio-demographic variables in India. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health 2019; 7(2):188-91.
- Daly JM, Merchant ML, Jogerst GJ. Elder abuse research: A systemic review. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect 2011; 23(4):348-65.
- Burnes D, Pillemer K, Caccamise PL, Mason A, Henderson CR, Berman J, et al. Prevalence of and risk factors for elder abuse and neglect in the community: A population- based study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society2015; 63(9):1906-12.
- Yan E, Chan K, Tiwari A. A systemic review of prevalence and risk factors for elder abuse in Asia. Trauma, Violence and Abuse 2015;16(2):199-19.
- Hoover RM, Polson M. Detecting elder abuse and neglect :assessment and intervention. American Family Physician2014;89(6):453-60.
- Roberto, Karen A. The complexities of elder abuse. American Psychologist. 2016; 71(4): 302-11.
- Pillemer K, Burnes D, Riffin C, Lachs MS. Elder abuse: Global situation, risk Factors, and prevention strategies. The Gerontologist 2016; 56(2):194-205.
- Yon Y, Mikton CR, Gassoumis ZD, Wiiber KH. Elder abuse Prevalence in Community Setting: A systemic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet 2017; 5(2):147-56.
- Piri N, Tanjani PT, Khodkarim S, Etemad K. Domestic elder abuse and associated factors in elderly women in Tehran, Iran . Epidemiology and Health 2018; 40(e2018055):1-7.
- Chokkanathan S, Lee AE. Elder mistreatment in Urban India: A community based study. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect 2006; 17(2): 45-61.
- Vida S, Monks R, Rosiers PD. Prevalence and correlates of elder abuse and neglect in a geriatric psychiatry service. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 47(5):459-67.
- Deliema M, Gassoumis ZD, Homeier DC, Wilber KH. Determining prevalence and correlates of elder abuse using promoters: Low income immigrant Latinos report high rates of abuse and neglect. Journal of the American Geriatric Society 2012; 60(7):1333-39.
- Dasbas S, Isikhan V. Elder abuse in Turkey and associated risk factors. Journal of Social Services Research 2019; 45(5):739-49.
- Vegard S, James KS. Abuse against elderly in India – The role of education. BMCPublicHealth2014,14:336http:\\www.biomedcentral.com\1471-2458\14\336.
- Jeon GS, Cho S, Choi K, Jang KS. Gender differences in the prevalence and correlates of elder abuse in a community – dwelling older population in Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2019; 16(1):100.
- Vida S, Monks RC, Rosiers PD. Prevalence and correlates of elder abuse and neglect in a geriatric psychiatry service. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 47(5):459-67.
- Munsur AH, Tareque I, Rahman M. Determinants of living arrangements, health status and abuse among elderly women: A study of Rural Naogaon District, Bangladesh. Journal of International Women’s Studies 2010; 11(4):162-76.
- Johannesen M, LoGiudice D. Elder abuse: A systemic review of risk factors in community-dwelling elders. Age and Aging 2013; 42(3): 292-98.
|
