بررسی شیوع سوءرفتار و عوامل مرتبط با آن در زنان سالمند

Background and purpose: Older people are one of the most vulnerable groups in every society and elder abuse is an important issue when considering their care and support. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence of elder abuse against women and related factors in Sabsevar (north east of Iran). Materials and methods: This analytical-descriptive study was conducted in 180 women older than 60 years of age who met our inclusion criteria. They were selected through stratified sampling in 2013. Data was collected using domestic elder abuse questionnaire. To analyze the data descriptive and non-parametric analytical tests were performed in SPSS V.16. Results: Among the studied population 49.39% were observed to suffer from elder abuse. The criteria with highest and lowest prevalence of elder abuse against women were emotional neglect (69%) and abandonment (42.87%), respectively. Significant association was seen between three types of elder abuse namely care neglect, psychological abuse, and abandonment and re-hospitalization (P=0.000). But no significant relationship was observed between elder abuse and educational level, economic state, income resources, and suffering from a chronic disease. Conclusion: This study showed that almost half of older women experience some types of abuse which can lead to different diseases and re-hospitalization.