The Frequency of Domestic Elder Abuse in Tehran City, Iran, in 2018

The older population and frequency of elder abuse are increasing in Iran. This study aimed to determine the rate of domestic elder abuse in the elderly referring to West Health Care Centers of Tehran City, Iran (affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences), in 2018.

In this cross-sectional study (descriptive-analytical type), 312 older people who referred to 18 health care centers and 34 health care stations in districts 9, 18, 21, and 22 of Tehran City, Iran between October 2017 to January 2018 were selected by random sampling method. Then, the elderly abuse questionnaire was completed for them through face to face interviews. The obtained data were analyzed by t-test and one-way ANOVA in SPSS.

 The Mean±SD age of the participants was 67.93±6.4 years. The findings showed that 77.9% of them had experienced elder abuse from the beginning of old age. Also, 58.3% of them experienced neglect. The most and the least experienced abuses were neglect and sexual abuse, respectively. The Independent t-test showed that the participants who needed a caregiver (t=4.30, df=130.03, P <0.001); their spouse was dead (t=-2.76, df=307, P=0.006); and were treated for depression (t=2.60, df=33.36, P=0.014 (had got higher total scores of elder abuse.

Due to the high rate of elder abuse and its dangerous effects on the quality of life of the elderly, developing proper programs to increase the awareness of the elderly and their families is essential.