Neglect/abandonment of older women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES

to analyze factors associated with neglect/abandonment of older women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

METHODS

a cross-sectional and analytical study of data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System of 2020-2021. Multivariate Poisson regression models were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.

RESULTS

5,875 cases of neglect/abandonment were reported. The majority of victims were brown, widowed, without disabilities, with low levels of education, and heterosexual. Factors associated with increased neglect/abandonment were age, having a disability, male perpetrator or both sexes and child or caregiver of victims, homophobia/lesbophobia/biphobia/transphobia, generational conflict and disability, and occurring in an industrial setting. Conversely, factors associated with a decrease in neglect/abandonment were married women/consensual unions and alcohol use by perpetrators.

CONCLUSIONS

reporting interpersonal violence during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed for the identification of vulnerabilities and provided support for prevention and early intervention.