Prevalence and Factors Associated With Elderly Abuse and Health Problems Among Elderly People of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

BACKGROUND

The global population of older adults is expanding in developing nations. According to the WHO, elder abuse is defined as "a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person." Such abuse is a global concern. This study aimed to find the prevalence, contributing factors, and impacts to inform effective prevention and intervention strategies.

METHODS

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted via face-to-face interviews with elderly individuals aged 60 years and above. The study was conducted among participants from the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The sample size was 385 with a prevalence of 50.3%. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select the sample. The first household was chosen randomly, and subsequent households were selected using the calculated sampling interval.

RESULTS

Psychological/emotional abuse was the most common (18.7%), followed by financial abuse, physical abuse, and neglect with sexual abuse reported rarely. The most frequently reported health problem was hypertension (21.4%) followed by osteoarthritis/osteoporosis and diabetes. Gender shows a significant association with emotional abuse (p = 0.02), where females (24.4%) experience higher rates compared to males (14.8%). Physical abuse is more common among females (16.7%) than males (10.0%), though the difference is marginally insignificant (p = 0.06).

CONCLUSIONS

Elderly abuse has been increasingly recognized as a serious global issue, warranting urgent attention from healthcare systems and national authorities.