Elder Abuse in a Geriatric Clinic - Patterns and its Perpetrating Factors

Prabusankar J Jeganathan .

Abstract


Elder abuse is an important public health problem causing considerable morbidity and disability worldwide. This study aimed to establish the patterns and its perpetrating factors of elder abuse in geriatric clinic. 500 elderly patients attending geriatric Out Patient Department in a tertiary care hospital were recruited in this study. Information was collected in face-to-face interviews on abuse types, socio-demographic profile using the following structured assessment tools 1.Elder abuse screening tool (EAST). 2. A structured proforma to assess socio-demographic characteristics. Of the 500, 88 (17.6 per cent) were abused. The sons (70.4 per cent) were frequently found to be the perpetrator followed by the daughter in law (29.5 per cent). Mental (psychological) abuse (52 per cent) was more common than Neglect (42 per cent) and Physical abuse (6 per cent). Financial problem (47 per cent) and Care giver stress (42 per cent) seemed to be the important factors for the perpetration of abuse

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References


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