The Prevalence of Self-Reported Elder Abuse Among Older Women in Community Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The abuse of older women appears to be a significant problem. Developing a better understanding of the extent of the problem is an important step toward preventing it. We conducted a global systematic review and meta-analysis of existing prevalence studies, in multiple languages, that occurred in the community settings from inception to June 26, 2015, in order to determine the extent of abuse against women aged 60 years and over. To disentangle the wide variations in prevalence estimates, we also investigated the associations between prevalence estimates and studies' demographic and methodological characteristics. A total of 50 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The combined prevalence for overall elder abuse in the past year was 14.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) [11.0, 18.0]). Pooled prevalence for psychological abuse was 11.8% (95% CI [9.2%, 14.9%]), neglect was 4.1% (95% CI [2.7%, 6.3%]), financial abuse was 3.8% (95% CI [2.5%, 5.5%]), sexual abuse was 2.2% (95% CI [1.6%, 3.0%]), and physical abuse was 1.9% (95% CI [1.2%, 3.1%]). The studies included in the meta-analysis for overall abuse were heterogeneous indicating that significant differences among the prevalence estimates exist. Significant associations were found between prevalence estimates and the following covariates: World Health Organization-defined regions, countries' income classification, and sample size. Together, these covariates explained 37% of the variance. Although robust prevalence studies are sparse in low- and middle-income countries, about 1 in 6, or 68 million older women experience abuse worldwide. More work is needed to understand the variation in prevalence rates and implications for prevention.

Improving measurement of child abuse and neglect: A systematic review and analysis of national prevalence studies

“…Additionally, our data extraction method for the quality assessment was not formally validated, but we adopted an approach similar to that used elsewhere [32,35,45] considering key variables in detail. Similarly, while there were no previously validated risk of bias measures for this specific type of prevalence study, we used a method with high interrater agreement that has been used elsewhere [45], including in prevalence studies of abuse and interpersonal violence [105][106]. Our approach to risk of bias adopted a conservative approach, and reasonably concluded that studies scoring 9.5 or 10 had minimal bias.…”

Older adults and violence: an analysis of Domestic Homicide Reviews in England involving adults over 60 years of age

“…(Yon et al 2017: 9)This illustrates the overlap between IPV and elder abuse. Yon et al (2017: 9) subsume IPV in older women into elder abuse, and note that: ‘it is plausible that with increasing age, intimate partners are less physically capable of perpetrating the more “traditional” forms of IPV (i.e., physical and sexual)’.…”

“…Ironically, little research has been conducted to understand the relationship between elder abuse and DA, and existing reports mainly consider women as victims and men as perpetrators. Yon et al (2017), in a systematic review and meta-analysis, found a combined prevalence for overall elder abuse in the past year of 14.1 per cent. They argue that: Few research studies have compared abuse of women across age groups.…”

“…One study found IPV is more prevalent later in adulthood at 41% for women aged 45 years and older, compared to 36% women aged 30–44 years and 26% 18–29 years (Wilke and Vinton, 2005). (Yon et al 2017: 9)…”

Elder abuse and mistreatment

“…Una revisión sistemática a partir de 50 estudios seleccionados publicados en varios idiomas de abusos autorreferidos por parte de personas mayores de 60 años que viven en el mundo comunitario, destaca que 1 de cada 6 personas es víctima de abuso (14.1%). El abuso psicológico aparecería en el 11.8% de los casos, las negligencias en el 4.1%, los económicos en el 3.8%, el sexual en el 2.2% y otras formas de abuso físico en el 1.9% (21).…”