Comparative study on perceived abuse and social neglect among rural and urban geriatric population

Comparative Study on Elder Abuse and Neglect Among Geriatric Population in the Rural and Urban Field Practice Areas of a Medical College

Background

Elder abuse is a multidimensional problem of public importance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 16% of older people were victims of elder abuse. A study conducted by HelpAge India in 2018 showed that Mangaluru ranks the highest in elder abuse (47%). Given the scarce literature, this study sought to determine the prevalence of elder abuse and its associated sociodemographic factors.

Material and Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the senior population in the rural and urban field practice a medical college in Mangaluru for one and a half years. The sample size was 280.

Results

Most of the study population was in the age group of fewer than 75 years (75.4%), with 50.4% females, 60% Hindus, 56.4% married, 39.3% illiterate, and 88.9% of them retired. The prevalence of elder abuse was 44.6% (rural = 50.7% and urban = 38.6%). Binary logistic regression showed that elder abuse was statistically significant among the unemployed, extended family members, and staying with children.

Conclusions

The study brings to light the sociodemographic factors that play a role in detecting elder abuse. It also shows the importance of awareness of elder mistreatment among older people. These elements must be considered for implementing and enforcing laws and legislation to help curb elder abuse.

Prevalence of cognitive dysfunction, psychological morbidity and abuse in the community-based elderly population in India

BACKGROUND

The elderly population in India is expected to grow enormously by 2050 owing to an increase in life expectancy. Community-based data on the prevalence of psychological morbidity, abuse and cognitive dysfunction are scarce.

AIMS

To determine the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction, psychological morbidity and abuse in the elderly population in a resettlement colony from East Delhi, India.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on the elderly population of a resettlement colony, in East Delhi, comprising 5 blocks and 12 subblocks with a total population of 65 000. The study was carried out within 2 months from April to August 2017. The self-reported questionnaires were administered to detect cognitive dysfunction, psychological morbidity, social support and pattern of abuse.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study subjects was 70.29 years (53.8% were males, 78.8% were married, 86.9% were Hindus and 75% were living with children). A total of 106 subjects (66.6%) belonged to the lower socioeconomic strata with 120 (75%) living with children. Most of the subjects (70.6%) studied below the primary level of education. As detected on Goldberg General Health Questionnaire-12, 56.9% of the subjects had psychological morbidity. On Dementia Assessment by Rapid Test, 33.1% of subjects were screened positive. The pattern of abuse reported was as follows: emotional abuse (16.9%), physical abuse (7.5%), sexual abuse (1.9%) and social neglect (18.1%). The social support score was found to be 46.22 (12.22).

CONCLUSION

The results of this community-based study signify that appropriate steps at the policy level need to be undertaken so that abuse as well as neglect can be prevented. In addition, screening the elderly population helps to detect early cognitive dysfunction, psychological morbidity, abuse victims and individuals with poor support.

Association of functional limitations and disability with elder abuse in India: a cross-sectional study

Background

Globally, elder abuse is a common form of violence against the elderly. This study examines the association of disability and functional ability measures with elder abuse in India.

Methods

Cross-sectional data from the UNFPA’s ‘Building Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India’ (BKPAI 2011) have been analysed. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses have been used to examine the association of measures of disability and functional ability with elder abuse/mistreatment.

Results

The overall prevalence of elder abuse in the study population is 11.4%. The prevalence of elder abuse experienced by study participants in the month before the survey is 6%. The prevalence of disability/functional ability increases the likelihood of elder abuse. Furthermore, the association between functional ability and abuse is stronger and consistent among the elderly who experienced abuse in the month preceding the survey. In addition, the association between disability and elder abuse is stronger in urban areas. Another observation is that gender introduces considerable disparities in the association of disability and functional ability measures with elder abuse. While elderly men with more than two disabilities are 1.85 times (95% CI: 1.23, 2.77, p < 0.003) more likely to experience abuse/mistreatment, women are 3.16 times (CI: 2.22, 4.49, p < .001) more exposed to it.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest a significant association of disability and functional ability with elder abuse. The association differs considerably by place of residence and gender. Measures to improve the functional health of the elderly population and measures to protect the elderly with disability and functional limitations are important in preventing abuse/mistreatment in old age.

The prevalence of confirmed childhood trauma and its' impact on psychotic-like experiences in a sample of Chinese adolescents

Adolescents with childhood trauma may be associated with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and is at high risk for later development of psychoses. Exploring early age risk factors for childhood trauma may provide useful information for prevention of mental disorders and improvement of mental health, yet no studies have examined the association between exposure to specific forms of trauma and different types of PLEs in a sample of Chinese adolescents. Thus, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form was used to measure five types of childhood trauma (emotional abuse, EA; physical abuse, PA; sexual abuse, SA; emotional neglect, EA; physical neglect, PA) in junior middle school students. And the positive subscale of Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences divided into four types (bizarre experiences, perceptual abnormalities, persecutory ideation and magical thinking) was used to measure PLEs. Then the possible associations among demographic information and specific types of childhood trauma on specific forms of PLEs was compared. The rates of EA, PA, SA, EA and PA were 14.2%, 13.0%, 16.1%, 60.0%, and 78.6%, respectively. Moreover, childhood trauma seems to be a main role in the development of PLE, and EA and SA patients are particularly likely to experience PLEs.

Prevalence of elder abuse and neglect: screening in Poland families

PURPOSE

Elder abuse and neglect is one of the most important problems of social and health policy among countries around the world. Making a real and reliable assessment of the occurrence of abuse is difficult to implement. The aim of this work is to show the frequency of physical, psychological, sexual abuse and financial exploitation among older adults.

METHODS

Older adults, who were aged ≥ 60 years (N = 200) were qualified for the study. The studied population consisted of 112 women (56.0%) and 88 men (44.0%). The whole project procedure only included filling in the survey questionnaire. The verification of hypotheses was based on tests: Chi square test, Chi square test with continuity correction and logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Within the obtained own results, out of 200 older adults, 77 respondents (38.5%) experienced abuse and neglect during the last 12 months. Most of the respondents (68.8%) experienced various forms of abuse simultaneously. Among those who experienced abuse, 75.3% experienced psychological abuse, 68.8% financial exploitation, 48.1% physical abuse, and 22.1% experienced sexual abuse. The rate of physical (OR 2.48; 95% CI 1.13, 5.44; p = 0.02), verbal (OR 1.94; 95% CI 1.02, 3.67; p = 0.04), sexual (OR 4.05; 95% CI 1.13, 14.5; p = 0.03) and economic (OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.02, 3.83; p = 0.04) abuse is statistically significantly higher, respectively, in women than in men. The level of education is a risk fact for physical abuse (p = 0.02). It has also been shown that singles, people with the income < 233 EUR and people living in urban areas are most often victims of elder abuse and neglect.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that elder abuse and neglect is a fairly common phenomenon. Our data also provide confirmation of other researches conducted in this area.

Prevalence and Predictors of Abuse in Elderly Patients with Depression at a Tertiary Care Centre in Saurashtra, India

CONTEXT

Elder abuse has devastating consequences such as poor quality of life, psychological distress and loss of property and security. Abuse of elderly patients with depression has not been adequately researched in India.

AIMS

To explore the prevalence and predictors of abuse and its relation to various sociodemographic variables in elderly patients with depression.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

A cross-sectional, observational study carried out at a tertiary care centre in Jamnagar.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

In all, 100 elderly patients with depression, attending Out Patient Department of Psychiatry at Shree M. P. Shah Government Medical College and Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, Jamnagar, were selected using simple random sampling by lottery method. Actual Abuse Tool and Elder Abuse Suspicion Index were used to detect abuse. Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depression, and Mini Mental State Examination was used to rule out dementia.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and binary logistic regression were used.

RESULTS

The prevalence of abuse was 24%. Among those who had experienced abuse, 50% had experienced psychological abuse, 17% had experienced neglect, 8% had experienced exploitation and 4% had experienced physical abuse. About 54% of patients with severe depression had experienced abuse. Daughters-in-law (54%) and sons (42%) were the most common perpetrators. Illiteracy and severe depression were found to be the predictors of abuse.

Elder abuse: Screening in Iranian families

Background: The rate of elder abuse has been increasing worldwide. This study aimed at identifying the group of elders susceptible to abuse and determining the influential factors of elder abuse. Methods: A total of 683 elders, living in rural and urban areas of Qazvin (Iran), participated in this cross- sectional study that was conducted during September to December 2015. They were selected by stratified multistage random sampling method and filled in a standard questionnaire (H-S/EAST). Multiple logistic regression models were used for data analysis in Microsoft SPSS v.18. Type 1 error was considered equal to 0.05. Results: The average age of participants was 68.5±7.6. Also, the prevalence of elder abuse in this study was 38.5 (95% CI: 3.34- 42.3). After eliminating the confounders and applying multiple regression analysis, we found a significant association between elder abuse and factors such as education level (OR= 2.003, 95% CI: 1.177-3.409), residence (OR= 3.53, 95% CI: 1.969-6.324), and age (OR= 0.963, 95% CI: 0.931-0.995). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated a high prevalence of elder abuse in the studied population. By identifying high-risk individuals for elder abuse and planning to improve their quality of life, we will be able to successfully overcome this issue.