Examining the Relationship Between Daily Activity Levels and Elder Abuse and Neglect: Bringing Light on Elder Abuse.
Gül Bülbül Maraş, Enes Ünlübaş
PMID 40342138WHAT IT FOUND
Daily-activity dependence was not linked to elder abuse in 448 older adults in Turkey.
Psychological abuse was most common, and family conflict or poor self-rated health were associated with higher abuse risk.
Key findings
01In 448 older adults surveyed in seven Turkish provinces, dependence in daily living activities was not significantly related to elder abuse.
02Psychological abuse was reported by 44.7% of participants, while 22.8% reported at least one form of non-sexual abuse.
03Multilevel analysis reported 3.93 times higher abuse risk with intrafamily conflict and 12.97 times higher risk with bad or very bad self-rated health.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Abuse was measured by self-report in the participant's home, and the authors note that fear, embarrassment, and cultural expectations may cause underreporting. People with dementia, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, or MMSE scores below 24 were excluded, so the study does not describe abuse in older adults with significant cognitive impairment, who may be especially vulnerable. The sample was mostly independent: mean Barthel score was 89.51 out of 100 and 62.7% were fully independent, so the null finding for daily-activity dependence may not apply to more dependent older adults. The design was cross-sectional, so associations with family conflict, health perception, education, or region cannot show which factor came first. Participants were community-dwelling older adults from seven Turkish provinces, so the results may not generalise to nursing homes, hospitals, other countries, or other Turkish regions. The paper reports 22.8% at least one non-sexual abuse but 44.7% psychological abuse, which makes the prevalence figures hard to interpret.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that dependence in daily activities causes or predicts elder abuse. This study found no significant relationship between daily-activity dependence and abuse, and its cross-sectional design cannot show cause.