Prevalence of Elder Abuse by Family Members and its Related Factors in Gonabad, Iran

Elder abuse is one of the major social health problems in communities which has significant effects on decreasing their health and safety. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of elder abuse by family members and its related factors in Gonabad, Iran.

Methods & Materials:

 This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on 401 elderly people in Gonabad, Iran. Who were selected using cluster random sampling. Data collection tools were a two-part questionnaire including a demographic form and the questionnaire of elder abuse by family members. The questionnaires were completed in a community health center. Data were analyzed in SPSS software version 23, using descriptive and inferential statistics. The significance level was set at 0.05.

The mean age of participants was 68.53±6.75 years. The prevalence of elder abuse by family members was 44.6%. The highest prevalence of elder abuse was related to care negligence and the lowest prevalence was related to rejection. The educational level (P=0.03), history of hospitalization (P<0.001), sleep quality (P<0.001), income level (P<0.001) and level of dependency (P<0.001) had a statistically significant relationship with the prevalence of elder abuse by family members.

Given the high prevalence of elder abuse in Gonabad city, it seems necessary to have programs to increase the awareness of the elderly, their caregivers, and health personnel to prevent and reduce elder abuse.