Elder Abuse in a Developing Area in Bolivia

Abstract

In many parts of the world, elder abuse happens almost unnoticed. Until recently, this serious social problem was hidden from public view and was regarded as an essentially private matter. However, there is growing evidence that elder abuse is an important problem of public health and in the society. The objective of this study is to determine the degree of abuse of elder and vulnerable people in the families and communities of Eastern Bolivia. With this end in mind, we conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study with a sample size of 210 60-year-old people coming from different health care areas. Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI) and Yaffe's Evaluation Form of Social Work were used. An abuse rate of 39% of the older adults was identified. The most common type of abuse observed was psychological abuse (32.4% of cases), followed by neglect (21.9%). Children were identified as triggers of the abuse in 66.7% of cases of abuse. The prevalence of elder abuse was similar to the prevalence of other types of abuse that exist in Bolivia, such as the gender-based abuse. Also, this prevalence is comparable to other developing countries and European countries. The profile of abused older adult is as follows: woman, widow, 70 years old, incomplete primary education, without an occupation, and an average of 4.59 children. The information obtained shows that dysfunctional families have a higher percentage of elder abuse.

Elder abuse within the family environment in the Azores Islands

“…Based on these results, it can be said that gender influences the probability of an elderly person being abused. These results are consistent with the existing literature on this subject 17 - 19 , such as a study conducted in the province of Malaga (Spain), in which of the 259 cases of elder abuse analyzed, 77.6% of the victims were women 18 . Other studies add that the greater the age, the greater the vulnerability 6 , so that age is considered another risk factor for mistreatment.…”

“…Regarding the profile of the abused elderly person in the Azores Islands, this is a married woman with 74 years of age, incomplete elementary education, no work activity and an average of 2.35 children. This profile is similar to that found by most studies conducted in other countries 17 , 19 - 20 , so it seems that there is a unique profile of the abused elderly person, prevailing over cultural and geographical diversity.…”

“…This is consistent with other studies 6 , 17 - 18 , such as one conducted in Spain in which it was found that the abuse rate increases by up to 2.9% among elderly people with severe dependence 17 . Finally, it seems that the functioning of the family structure influences the abuse, so that belonging to a dysfunctional family increases the probability of abuse, as seen in previous studies carried out in other countries 19 .…”

“…However, these numbers are slightly higher than those found in other European studies, such as Spain, where, according to a study, 12.1% of the elderly people are abused 20 ; or Italy, where, according to another study, 12.7% of the elderly people are abused 21 . Compared with the rest of the world, these numbers are lower than those found in American countries, such as Brazil, where, according to a recent study, the prevalence of abuse is 78.1% 22 , or Bolivia, where the prevalence is 39% 19 ; or Asia, such as a study conducted in China that found a prevalence of abuse of 36.2% 23 . The reasons explaining the differences in prevalence among countries include the different instruments used to measure abuse.…”

Elder abuse and associated factors in eastern romania

“…43 Study data showed that people with lower score in the Family APGAR test have higher probability of older domestic abuse. 44 Unfortunately Family APGAR is not a used and validated tool in our country.…”