Around 1 in 6 older people experience some form of abuse, a figure higher than previously estimated and predicted to rise as populations age worldwide.
A new study, supported by WHO and published in the Lancet Global Health, has found that almost 16% of people aged 60 years and older were subjected to either psychological abuse (11.6%), financial abuse (6.8%), neglect (4.2%), physical abuse (2.6%) or sexual abuse (0.9%). The research draws on the best available evidence from 52 studies in 28 countries from different regions, including 12 low- and middle-income countries.
“The abuse of older people is on the rise; for the 141 million older people worldwide this has serious individual and societal costs,” says Alana Officer, Senior Health Adviser, Department of Ageing and Life Course at WHO.
“We must do much more to prevent and respond to the increasing frequency of different forms of abuse.”
Awareness about elder abuse, still largely a taboo topic, has started to increase across the world. It is defined as actions or lack of appropriate action which can cause harm or distress to an older person, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust. All types of elder abuse can have an impact on the health and well-being of the older person.
Psychological abuse is the most pervasive and includes behaviors that harm an older person’s self-worth or wellbeing such as name calling, scaring, embarrassing, destroying property or preventing them from seeing friends and family.
Financial abuse includes illegally misusing an older person’s money, property or assets. Neglect includes the failure to meet an older person’s basic needs, such as food, housing, clothing and medical care.
Health effects of abuse include traumatic injury and pain, as well as depression, stress and anxiety. Elder abuse can lead to an increased risk of nursing home placement, use of emergency services, hospitalization and death.
“Despite the frequency and the serious health consequences, elder abuse remains one of the least investigated types of violence in national surveys, and one of the least addressed in national plans to prevent violence,” Ms Officer adds.
By 2050 the number of people aged 60 and over will double to reach 2 billion globally, with the vast majority of older people living in low- and middle-income countries. If the proportion of elder abuse victims remains constant, the number of people affected will increase rapidly due to population ageing, growing to 320 million victims by 2050.
