The risk of becoming a perpetrator of abuse include mental illness, substance abuse and dependency – often financial – of the abuser on the victim. Individual level characteristics which increase Individual level characteristics which increase the risk of becoming a victim of abuse include functional dependence/disability, poor physical health, cognitive impairment, poor mental health and low income. People, the consequences of abuse can be especially serious and recovery may take longer (4).
ConsequencesĪbuse of older people can have serious physical and mental health, financial, and social consequences, including, for instance, physical injuries, premature mortality, depression, cognitive decline, financial devastation and placement in nursing homes. Even if the proportion of victims of abuse of older people remains constant, the global number of victims will increase rapidly due to populationĪgeing, growing to some 320 million victims by 2050, as the global population of people aged 60 years and more increases to 2 billion by 2050. Globally, the number of cases of elder abuse is projected to increase as many countries have rapidly ageing populations. Abuse of older people in institutional settings.Abuse of older people in community settings.A US study, for instance, suggests that rates in the community may have increased by as much as 84% (3). Reported by older adults and their proxiesĮmerging evidence indicates that the prevalence of abuse of older people in both the community and in institutions have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Table 1: Systematic reviews and meta-analysesĪbuse of older people in community settings (1)Ībuse of older people in institutional settings (2) However, a review of recent studies on abuse of older people in institutional settings (2) indicates that 64.2% of staff reported perpetrating some form of abuse in the past year. Rigorous data are limited, the review provides prevalence estimates of the proportion of older people affected by different types of abuse (see Table 1).ĭata on the extent of the problem in institutions such as hospitals, nursing homesĪnd other long-term care facilities are scarce.
A 2017 review of 52 studies in 28 countries from diverse regions estimated that over the past year 1 in 6 people (15.7%) aged 60 years and older were subjected to some form of abuse (1). Scope of the problemĪbuse of older people is an important public health problem. Rights and includes physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse financial and material abuse abandonment neglect and serious loss of dignity and respect. This type of violence constitutes a violation of human
The abuse of older people, also known as elder abuse, is 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.
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