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The relationship between older people's awareness of the term elder abuse and actual experiences of elder abuse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2013

Corina Naughton ,
Jonathan Drennan ,
Imogen Lyons  and
Attracta Lafferty
Corina Naughton*
Affiliation:
UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, UCD Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Jonathan Drennan
Affiliation:
UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, UCD Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Imogen Lyons
Affiliation:
National Centre for the Protection of Older People (NCPOP), UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, UCD Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Attracta Lafferty
Affiliation:
National Centre for the Protection of Older People (NCPOP), UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, UCD Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr Corina Naughton, UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, UCD Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Phone: +00-353-1-7166432; Fax: +00-353-1-7166450. Email: corina.naughton@ucd.ie.
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Abstract

Background: Awareness and experiences of elder abuse have been researched as separate entities; this study examined the relationship between awareness of elder abuse, disclosure of abuse, and reporting of abuse among people aged 65 years or older.

Methods: A national cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 2,012 community-dwelling older people was carried out in Ireland. People described their understanding of the term elder abuse followed by their experiences of mistreatment. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used with frequency, percentage, odds ratios (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) presented.

Results: The prevalence of elder abuse, including stranger abuse, since 65 years of age was 5.9% (95% CI 4.6–7.3). Overall, 80% of the population demonstrated some understanding of the term elder abuse. Older people who experienced physical abuse (OR 5.39; 95% CI 2.31–12.5) and psychological abuse (OR 2.51; 95% CI 1.58–3.97) were significantly more likely than older people who had not experienced mistreatment to relate the term elder abuse to their personal experiences. There was no association between experiences of financial abuse or neglect and awareness of the term elder abuse.

Conclusions: There was a relatively high level of awareness of the term elder abuse; however, a substantial proportion of people could not readily associate abusive behaviors within their personal lives with elder abuse. Public information campaigns need to move beyond simple awareness rising to enable people to bridge the gap between a theoretical understanding of elder abuse and recognizing inappropriate behavior in their own circumstances.

Keywords

elder abuseawarenesselderlyolder people
Type
Special Issue Research Articles
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 25 , Issue 8: Elder abuse an international perspective , August 2013 , pp. 1257 - 1266
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2013 

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