Elder Abuse—The Current State of Research in South Africa

Kotzé, Carla

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2018.00358

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Elderly abuse was found to be prevalent among participants who were female, illiterate, belonged to the Dalit caste group, low financial situation, tobacco users, and poor health. These results agree with those of several other studies [ 25 , 31 , 32 , 36 , 37 ]. Other research have shown that elderly people who were ill are more likely to be abused [ 19 , 38 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Prevalence of abuse among the elderly population of Syangja, Nepal

et al. 2021

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Background Elder abuse is recognized as a serious public health concern and top priority aging issues. World Health Organization reported that around 1 out of 6 old people in the world experienced some form of abuse. This study was carried out to find out the prevalence of different forms of abuse among elderly Nepalese people. Methods The cross-sectional, quantitative analytical study was carried out among 373 elders of the Syangja district of Nepal. The study population was selected through simple, proportionate, and systematic sampling methods. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Results The majority of participants were female (54.5%). The prevalence of elderly abuse was found to be 54.5%. The most common form of abuse among the elderly population was neglect (23.1%), psychological abuse (20.6%), physical abuse (6.5%), financial abuse (2.4%), and sexual abuse (1.9%). Elderly females were significantly more likely to experience physical and psychological abuse. Conclusion More than half of the elderly experienced at least one form of abuse. Neglect was found to be the most common form of abuse. The abuse was prevalent among elderly who were ill and with the habit of tobacco and alcohol consumption.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Prevalence of abuse among the elderly population of Syangja, Nepal

et al. 2021

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“…Moreover, social workers could be motivated by the perception that elder abuse is a developmental deficit-related issue with psychosocial effects. However, research from South Africa identifies elder abuse as a structural and cultural issue that requires structurally and culturally relevant interventions (Kotzé, 2018). Therefore, this study highlights that social workers should design structurally and culturally appropriate interventions to tackle elder abuse.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Social Work Response to Elder Abuse in Uganda: Voices from Practitioners

Wamara

2021

Journal of Gerontological Social Work

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Social workers across the globe are at the forefront of tackling elder abuse, as they are committed to social justice, human rights, and respect for human diversity. However, research on social workers' response to elder abuse in Sub-Saharan Africa remains scarce. This qualitative study assessed how social workers in Uganda have responded to elder abuse. In-depth semistructured interviews were used to collect data from 21 social workers. The findings suggest that social work in Uganda has not asserted itself in the fight against elder abuse. The few social work interventions aimed at reducing the risk of elder abuse are mostly anti-poverty undertakings. Social workers mainly discussed the drivers of elder abuse, correlating them with their interventions, and challenges such as the absence of a specific law for older people, ignorance of older people's rights, and the underreporting of elder abuse. This study found that advocacy is needed for specific laws that protect the rights of older people, along with public awareness campaigns and the establishment of a research center for aging and later life.

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“…Participants were concerned with revamping the role of the family and social network systems that they believed had been weakened by modernisation. The need for cultural and structural solutions to ageing challenges is well-articulated in the writings of Kotzé (2018) and Wamara (2021), who identify elder abuse as a structural and cultural issue that necessitates culturally appropriate interventions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies in different countries report similar high and worrying figures. For instance, 64% of the institutional staff working with older people in South Africa admitted to elder abuse (Kotzé, 2018), and in Kenya, 81.1% of older people had experienced some form of abuse (Lydiah Kabole et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenised approaches to addressing elder abuse in Uganda

Wamara¹,

Strandberg²,

Bennich

2022

Journal of Social Work

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Summary The social gerontological field has long called for a culturally appropriate framework to understand, prevent, and respond to elder abuse in the Global South. This emphasis is, in part, based on the notion that elder abuse is a cultural and structural concern that cannot be effectively addressed using mainstream social work approaches. Therefore, indigenised approaches are preferred while tackling cultural and structural forms of elder abuse. However, despite several attempts, there is limited research on indigenised approaches and practices within the gerontological social work field. Therefore, we investigated how social work could promote indigenised approaches to better address elder abuse. We explored this through in-depth semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 21 social workers. Findings Elder abuse is a cultural and structural social problem that requires family- and community-centred approaches premised on the Indigenous values of togetherness, reciprocity, solidarity, responsibility and love for humanity. These approaches must be embedded in people’s cultures and knowledge to address the social structural changes that have contributed to elder abuse in the Global South. Applications Social workers should strengthen family and community support to achieve social capital and inclusion for older people. This will not only enable families and communities to safeguard their older members, but also enhance community-based solutions to address elder abuse. Social work educators should engage in robust and rigorous research and curriculum change for social work education to enable the integration of post-colonial theories and approaches into social work training.

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Elder Abuse—The Current State of Research in South Africa

Cited by 16 publications

References 16 publications

Prevalence of abuse among the elderly population of Syangja, Nepal

Prevalence of abuse among the elderly population of Syangja, Nepal

Social Work Response to Elder Abuse in Uganda: Voices from Practitioners

Indigenised approaches to addressing elder abuse in Uganda

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