A study on elder abuse in an urban resettlement colony of Delhi

BACKGROUND: In India, proportion of elderly is increasing with decrease in mortality rate and increase in life expectancy. There is a paucity of studies on elder abuse, a problem faced frequently by an elderly. The present study planned to find out the prevalence of abuse and associated risk factors among community dwelling elderly in an urban resettlement colony of east Delhi. METHODS: It is a community-based cross-sectional study. This study was done among elderly residents aged 60 years and above in an urban resettlement colony of east Delhi. Study participants were interviewed using a pretested, semi-structured questionnaire. Data were collected regarding sociodemographic profile and prevalence of abuse. Simple descriptive tables were generated to denote frequencies. Cross-tabulation and chi-square test were applied to study the association between various sociodemographic characteristics and elder abuse. RESULTS: A total of 125 elderly were interviewed. Twelve (9.6%) reported experience of abuse. All abused participants faced neglect, four faced verbal abuse, and two participants reported physical and one financial abuse. Abused elderly belonged to a higher age group >70 years and did not have regular contact with family and friends (P = 0.00; no involvement in social activities (P = 0.001). Abuse was more likely when “finances were managed by others” (P = 0.02) and having dependency for daily needs (P = 0.00). CONCLUSION: Elder abuse is prevalent in India. The victims of abuse lack social support and network and are reluctant to report abuse.