Characterization and Prevalence of Elder Abuse in Brazil

Abstract

We aimed to assess the prevalence and characterize the profile of elder abuse in Brazil in this quantitative descriptive and exploratory study using a document analysis of cases of elder abuse against people aged 60 and over reported to Brazil's Notifiable Disease Information System ( Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação-SINAN) from 2009 to 2013. Association between age groups (older adults and non-older adults) and (a) characteristics of the victims (gender, age, and race), (b) characteristics of the violence (type of violence, place of occurrence, and repeated violence) and, (c) characteristics of the perpetrator (gender, suspected alcohol consumption, and victim-perpetrator relationship) were assessed using the chi-square test and odds ratios (OR) with a 95% confidence interval. Statistical significance was set at p< .05. Elder abuse accounted for 5.7% of all cases of violence, with a higher prevalence among women (54.3%). Older men and older white people were more likely to suffer violence compared with their non-older peers (OR=1.75 and OR=1.47, respectively). Financial abuse (OR=5.95), violence resulting from legal intervention (OR=1.24), repeated violence (OR=1.22), and torture (OR=1.08) were at higher chances of occurring among older adults. In all, 30.3% of the cases of elder abuse were perpetrated by their children and 22% of the perpetrators were suspected to have consumed alcohol. Older adults were 30 times more likely to be abused by their children and eight times by caregivers and presented 2.37 more chances of evolving to death due to violence and 1.8 more chances to suffer violence in the household. The cases of elder abuse reported to SINAN highlight the greater fragility of this population group. In addition to reporting this public health problem, governmental and non-governmental actions are necessary to provide older adults with a healthy aging and ensure their rights, dignity, and autonomy.

Perception of Dignity of Patients in Palliative Care

“…It is estimated that of the 901 million people over 60 years old, 15% were victims of some form of abuse; and it is suggested that this number may be higher since such crimes are underreported. [37][38] Situations of social vulnerability cause dignity to be violated and it is important to create mechanisms to guarantee what the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates, ensuring that dignity is "protected". 39 The relationship between social vulnerability, violence and dignity observed in the present study did not occur in the canadian study, and this difference can be explained by the brazilian political and social situation, which appears in the speech of many participants of this study associated with the perception of dignity.…”

Notificações de óbitos por causas externas e violência contra idosos: uma realidade velada

“…Quanto aos dados sobre mortalidade, obtiveram-se os dados do SIM a partir da mesma fonte que o SINAN-Net, e as causas básicas dos óbitos estão agrupadas de acordo com a classificação proposta no CID-10 (Código Internacional de Doenças): acidentes de transporte (V01-V99); outras causas externas de lesões acidentais (W00-X59); lesões autoprovocadas voluntariamente (X60-X84); agressões (X85-Y09); eventos cuja intenção é indeterminada (Y10-Y34); complicações de assistência médica e cirúrgica (Y40-Y84) e sequelas causas externas de morbidade e mortalidade (Y85-Y89) (11) . Buscou-se, também, a caracterização dos óbitos segundo as variáveis disponíveis: sexo, faixa etária, raça/cor, estado civil, local de ocorrência e causa do óbito (18) .…”

“…A violência impacta a qualidade de vida dos idosos, podendo ter graves efeitos e resultando em problemas psicológicos, financeiros, sociais e físicos, e na incapacidade perene, permanente ou a morte da pessoa idosa (11) . A incapacidade pode, por sua vez, aumentar a dependência funcional do idoso, aumentando o risco da violência física e de outros tipos de abuso por terceiro (12) .…”

“…A incapacidade pode, por sua vez, aumentar a dependência funcional do idoso, aumentando o risco da violência física e de outros tipos de abuso por terceiro (12) . A temática é desafiadora para a saúde pública, principalmente para ações de controle e prevenção, devido a sua multicausalidade (7,11) .…”

“…to married people. The hospital was the place where most of the deaths occurred, representing 64% (11,664) of the cases. Deaths from other external causes were: 42.5% (7,741), with falls accounting for 32.4% (5,897) of the total.…”