Mehra Aseem, Grover Sandeep, Agarwal Arun, Bashar Mohammad, Avasthi Ajit
Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
Department of Community Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2019 Apr-Jun;10(2):218-224. doi: 10.4103/jnrp.jnrp_338_18.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of elder abuse in a rural setting. In addition, the study aimed to evaluate the association of elder abuse with psychiatric morbidity and demographic factors.
A total of 125 elderly (age ≥55 years) were evaluated for psychiatric diagnosis as per the International Classification of Diseases, 10 revision (ICD-10) criteria by the qualified psychiatrist and were evaluated on Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale for elder abuse.
More than half (58.4%) of the participants had one psychiatric disorder, with depression being the most common. Elder abuse was seen in more than one-third (41.6%) of the study participants. Those with psychiatric morbidity had significantly higher prevalence of abuse. None of the demographic factors was associated with abuse.
Elder abuse is highly prevalent in rural setting, especially among those with psychiatric morbidity.
Considering the high prevalence of elder abuse, there is an urgent need to address the problem. Public awareness, education, and sensitization of people toward the abuse are need of the day.
本研究的目的是评估农村地区老年人受虐待的患病率。此外，该研究旨在评估老年人受虐待与精神疾病发病率及人口统计学因素之间的关联。
由合格的精神科医生根据《国际疾病分类》第10版（ICD - 10）标准对总共125名老年人（年龄≥55岁）进行精神疾病诊断评估，并使用老年人受虐待易感性筛查量表对他们进行评估。
超过一半（58.4%）的参与者患有一种精神疾病，其中抑郁症最为常见。超过三分之一（41.6%）的研究参与者存在老年人受虐待的情况。患有精神疾病的人受虐待的患病率显著更高。没有任何人口统计学因素与受虐待相关。
老年人受虐待在农村地区非常普遍，尤其是在患有精神疾病的人群中。
鉴于老年人受虐待的高患病率，迫切需要解决这一问题。当务之急是提高公众意识、开展教育并增强人们对虐待行为的敏感度。
