In this study, we present findings of the Portuguese national prevalence study, "Aging and Violence," the purpose of which was to estimate the prevalence of abuse and neglect of older people in family settings over a 12-month period and examine the relationship between abuse and sociodemographic and health characteristics. Through a telephone survey of a representative probability sample (N = 1,123), we evaluated 12 abusive behaviors and demographic data. Overall, 12.3% of older adults experienced elder abuse in family settings. The prevalence rates of specific types were as follows: psychological, 6.3%; financial, 6.3%; physical, 2.3%; neglect, 0.4%; and sexual, 0.2%. Logistic regression was employed to determine the relationship between abuse and covariates. The study suggests that education level, age, and functional status are significantly associated with abuse. Accurate estimates of the prevalence of elder abuse and understanding of victim and perpetrator characteristics are fundamental to designing effective strategies for prevention and intervention.
The studies on the prevalence of violence towards the elderly in a family context that have been conducted in the last thirty years, especially in Europe and Anglo-Saxon countries, are not sufficiently elucidative. This is due to shortcomings in both the definition of their theoretical models and their operative concepts. The authors of this article have systematically reviewed the literature and identified a diversity of definitions and research designs, which has an inevitable impact in terms of varying estimates. The European public perception of this problem is also at odds with the low figures contained in this type of estimate. The authors offer somethoughts about the underlying reasons for these representations, and critique the estimates made in population-based prevalence studies.
informação sobre o artigo Historial do artigo: Recebido a 12 de novembro de 2013 Aceite a 18 de setembro de 2014 Palavras-chave: Envelhecimento ativo Política local Programas municipais r e s u m o As transformaç ões demográficas originam fortes desafios a enfrentar pelas políticas públi-cas, exigindo a preparação dos organismos responsáveis. O «envelhecimento ativo» surge como paradigma de intervenção que pode contrariar/inverter as tendências nefastas das novas transformaç ões. A investigação incidiu em torno das políticas municipais que procuram responder aos problemas inerentes ao envelhecimento, envolvendo-nos numa análise de programas em 3 concelhos do interior de Portugal. Embora não exista uma solução única e definitiva, os programas devem procurar enfatizar estilos de vida saudáveis, alcançar maior qualidade de vida e ter em conta as situaç ões socioeconómicas, reforç ando a componente reparadora e inclusiva da velhice.
a b s t r a c tThe demographic changes arise a great challenge to public policies, demanding the preparation of the responsible organizations. The «Active Ageing» starts to be seen as the mainstreaming for policies, as it can counteract or reverse the negative trends of these demographic changes. This research focused on the policies that seek to respond to the population aging problems in Portugal. It was produced an analysis of three local programs following the mainstreaming of «active ageing» in interior country. Although there is no unique and definitive solution, these programs should emphasize healthy lifestyles aiming the highest quality of life possible taking into account the socioeconomic situations, without disregarding the duty of reinforce the repairing and inclusive component of ageing.
The aging population has an impact on health, social, and economic issues in regard to individuals, communities, and organizations. The challenge for local policies in response to aging is to create sufficient resources to meet the population's needs, wishes, and rights as people age. Active aging constitutes one of the guiding perspectives on policies. Taking into account the local governance perspective, the Model for Aging Local Policies Analysis (MALPA) was created in order to convert the active aging paradigm into a practical approach, as a technique to evaluate and analyze local aging policies. In this research, the MALPA instrument was applied in two Portuguese communities (Coruche and Oeiras). The objective was to identify the intervention priorities of aging policies in both communities, determining whether the instrument can facilitate the development of proposals for the improvement of local aging policies. It was possible to evaluate the communities and programs, identifying the least appropriate policy actions regarding the intervention priorities. The results allowed us to identify 10 priorities about collaborative governance, involvement of the elderly in the policy-making process, lifelong learning, economic hardship, policies for all ages, isolated vulnerable and fragile groups, intergenerational contacts, safety in all policies, labor opportunities, and conditions and transport network improvement.
Introdução: As significativas melhorias do estado de saúde das populações como o aumento da longevidade humana, criaram novas realidades, também distintas para homens e mulheres. Há uma significativa disparidade entre a saúde e a capacidade de sobrevivência entre os sexos: os homens são fisicamente mais fortes e têm menos dificuldades, mas têm substancialmente maior mortalidade em todas as idades. As mulheres vivem mais tempo mas em pior estado de saúde. Isso é um paradoxo da saúde e sobrevivência na relação masculino-feminino. Objetivo: A investigação tem como objectivo identificar padrões de mortalidade e perfis de saúde, em função do género e da idade, de homens e mulheres com 50 anos ou mais. Métodos: Foram utilizados dados da mortalidade ao longo do tempo e a base de dados do Inquérito Nacional de Saúde (INS) realizado em Portugal, em 2005/2006. Resultados: As mulheres idosas portuguesas têm piores níveis de escolaridade e maior risco de pobreza associada a menores rendimentos e estatuto social, mas em geral a população portuguesa mais velha apresenta condições sociais desfavoráveis. Em termos de saúde, as mulheres têm pior saúde e mais comorbilidades, contudo são também mais velhas do que os homens. As evidências mostram que um pior estado de saúde e práticas de saúde pouco saudáveis estão associados a rendimentos inferiores e actividade laboral indiferenciada, mas não directamente associados a homens ou mulheres. Conclusão: Os fatores relacionados com o género são um importante contributo para explicar as diferenças em saúde que ocorrem ao longo da vida e se acentuam durante o processo de envelhecimento de homens e mulheres.
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