The time has come to eliminate the gaps in the under-recognized burden of elder mistreatment: A community-based, cross-sectional study from rural eastern Nepal

Abstract

BackgroundElder mistreatment is a well-recognized public health issue with complex underlying factors. The current study hypothesized that there is no effect of any of the following factors on any type of elder mistreatment: ethnicity, age group, education status, gender, living arrangement, concentration problems, medication for any disease, income level of caregiver, use of alcohol and tobacco products, and dependence on family or caregivers for daily activities.Materials and methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 339 elders adults aged 60 or above residing in a rural part of eastern Nepal between August and November 2016. Multi-stage cluster sampling was adopted to select the study subjects. Information was collected using semi-structured questionnaires administered to elderly people by a designated interviewer. Factors associated with elder mistreatment were analyzed using logistic regression.ResultsOur findings revealed that 61.7% of 60+-year-olds experienced some form of mistreatment (physical 2.4%, psychological 22.4%, caregiver neglect 57.5%, financial 12.1% and stranger-inflicted 8.3%). Elder mistreatment was associated with the following characteristics of elders: dependent on family for daily living activities, illiterate, experiencing concentration problems, residing in a living arrangement with their son(s)/daughter(s)-in-law, taking regular medications, belonging to the Dalit community according to the Hindu traditional caste system, and residing with a caregiver having a monthly family income of less than NRs. 20,000 (193USD).ConclusionsOur data show that elder mistreatment is prevalent in a rural community of Nepal. Addressing the lower socio-economic or socio-cultural classes of caregivers and elders via community-focused development programs might have significant implications for improving the well-being of elders.

Socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, multi-morbid conditions and depressive symptoms among Nepalese older adults

“…Meanwhile, in the Nepalese context, most of the older adults depends on family members/caregivers for their daily needs, where families tend to provide better care if the older adults have some economic resources. This situation may turn to increased conflict at the family level, which in turn puts older populations at risk of mistreatment, which may increase the risk of depression [16,33]. However, in this current study we haven't accessed the association between elder mistreatment and depression, and we suggest the need of future studies to check this hypothesis.…”

“…A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic profiles (age, gender, religion, literacy status, marital status, family type) and behavior and lifestyle characteristics (history of smoking, tobacco, alcohol and physical activity) from the study participants. Socio-demographic and lifestyle variables are described in our previous work that is published by Yadav et.al [16].…”

Socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, multi-morbid conditions and depressive symptoms among Nepalese older adults

“…Meanwhile, in the Nepalese context, most of the older adults depends on family members/caregivers for their daily needs, where families tend to provide better care if the older adults have some economic resources. This situation may turn to increased conflict at the family level, which in turn puts older populations at risk of mistreatment, which may increase the risk of depression (30,31). However, in this current study we haven't accessed the association between elder mistreatment and depression.…”

Biosocial and disease conditions affecting the quality of life among older adults in Eastern Nepal

“…Independent variables included were age; gender; ethnicity; religion; marital status; living arrangement; literacy status; occupation; monthly personal income; smoking habit; alcohol drinking habit; tobacco chewing habit; physical activity and presence of any co-morbidities. These co-variates are described in the published paper authored by Yadav et al [19].…”