Increased Prevalence of Elder Abuse Following the COVID-19 Pandemic? The Merits and Implications for Public Health Practice

Abstract

Family members regularly mistreat the elderly who rely on them because they lack financial stability and believe that seeking aid will exacerbate their predicament. Elder abuse studies conducted in the last two years indicate that an increased number of elderly citizens have been abused since the COVID-19 outbreak, and many of them did not receive assistance from agencies responding to abuse because they did not report any incidents and did not have access to a phone, even if they desired it. Researchers think that an increase in elder maltreatment is being fuelled, in part, by directives to shelter in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing restrictions and lockdowns worldwide. While the UN acknowledges domestic violence against women as a "shadow pandemic," elder abuse may be just as dangerous. This article highlights elder abuse by doing a critical review of some of the recent studies conducted preceding to and during the outbreak of COVID-19. Its purpose is to critically examine existing claims that elder abuse has increased in prevalence since the coronavirus outbreak, to highlight critical public health implications, and to suggest additional initiatives for the early detection and management of elder abuse.