Violence and associated health outcomes among older adults in India: A gendered perspective

BACKGROUND: Since older population in India continue to rely on family and social networks for care and support, understanding the health outcomes associated with violence within and outside family may direct the development of policies and measures to aid the victims of violence. The present paper examines the health consequences of violence against older adults and its gender differentials in India. METHODS: Using data from Building Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India (BKPAI), we employed bivariate and logistic regressions on a sample of 9181 older adults to fulfil the aims and objective of the paper. RESULTS: About 10.7% and 11.3% of men and women faced violence after turning 60 years respectively. Older adults who ever faced violence after turning age 60 years had 60%, 41% and 33% higher likelihood to have poor-SRH, low ADL and low IADL respectively in comparison to their counterparts. Further, it was found that older adults who ever faced violence after turning age 60 years had 97% and 62% higher likelihood to have lower psychological health and low subjective well-being. Additionally, it was found that women who faced violence had higher odds of having low psychological health [OR: 1.18, CI: 1.06, 1.63], low subjective well-being [OR: 1.70, CI: 1.24, 2.33] and low cognitive ability [OR: 1.32, CI: 1.04, 1.79] in comparison to men who faced violence. CONCLUSION: Violence against older adults must be recognized as a key public health issue for older adults in India. Study findings indicate the immediate need for assessing victim health outcomes following any type of violence in later years to determine related policies and programs to protect the victims. Reducing violence will have a positive impact on physical and mental health outcomes late in life as well as the functional abilities of older adults, especially older women.