Aged ; Elder Abuse ; Humans

Background and Objectives: Elderly Filipinos have four important concerns: security in old age, health status, impact of aging, and elder abuse. Elder abuse committed in their homes or in their community is alarming. How their social networks (their family, friends, relatives, and significant others) treat them plays a crucial role in their well-being. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions on elder abuse and the safety status of Filipino older persons along with the treatment afforded to them by their social networks. The study also determined such perception to be able to devise a cost effective, community-based interventions to address elder abuse. Methodology: The study used mixed methods design and the Experience of Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI) tool, a questionnaire along with the demographic profile of the participants. The results were tallied and analyzed using descriptive statistics. How social networks treat them and their safety status were explored using researcher-made open-ended questions analyzed using the qualitative approach. Results and Conclusion Findings revealed the perceptions of Filipino older persons on elder abuse, with participants from the 60-69 age group, predominantly female, with no work, and have low monthly income. The major themes generated from the qualitative findings were relationship issues with the self, environment, coping, abuses, and values. Several sub-themes were also discovered and were related to the findings. An awareness campaign on the issue of elder abuse in Philippine society was recommended. Educating social networks about the perils of abuse is crucial in maintaining the safety of older persons. A monitoring system must be developed at the barangay level and policies must be put in place to address the concerns of elder abuse.
Elder Abuse ; Social Networking

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify the relationship of the elder abuse perception with the caregiving stress of adult caregivers and to investigate influencing factors on them. METHODS: Data were collected from 398 adults aged 30-65, and analyzed with the SPSS/WIN program. RESULTS: In the elder abuse perception, there were differences in age, marital status, education, job, person to be taken care of, age of elderly mother, duration of caregiving, economic status and health status of elderly parents. As for the caregiving stress, there were differences in age, marital status, income, health status, relationship with the elder, person to be taken care of, economic status and health status of elder parents. Influencing factors on the elder abuse perception included caregiving stress, education, marital status, health status of elders, and economic status of parents (30%). On the caregiving stress, elder abuse perception, economic status of elders, and relationship between caregivers and elders were influencing factors (24%). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that it is needed to develop a nursing program to prevent elder abuse and to decrease caregiving stress in caregivers. In addition, it should be considered in tandem with significant influencing factors that were found in this study.
Adult* ; Aged ; Caregivers* ; Elder Abuse* ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Mothers ; Parents

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to determine the impact of abuse experience and coping styles on suicidal ideation in Korean elders. METHODS: Data were collected from the 2011 Korean National Survey on the Elderly. The participants were 10,537 elders aged 65 or older who had replied to the question on suicidal ideation. Socio-demographic and health related factors, abuse experience, and coping style were included as the influence factors of suicidal ideation. Data were analyzed using x2-test and logistic stepwise regression with the SPSS/WIN 21.0 program. RESULTS: The prevalence of abuse experience among the elders was 12.7% and that of suicidal ideation was 11.2%. Elders with abuse experience (OR=2.79, 95% CI=2.39~3.26) were more likely to have suicidal ideation but those with an active coping style (OR=0.69, 95% CI=0.57~0.84) were less likely to have suicidal ideation even with other influence factors controlled. CONCLUSION: Abuse experience of the elderly was a major risk factor that increased suicidal ideation, and active coping style was a protective factor that reduced suicidal ideation. These findings show that careful attention to elderly abuse and education for active coping style are necessary to reduce suicidal ideation among the elderly.
Aged* ; Education ; Elder Abuse ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Suicidal Ideation*

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to assess the morale of Korean elders, to analyze the affecting factors, and to look for the ways to raise their morale. METHODS: The structured interviews and measurements of depression (Four-Item Geriatric Depression Scale and Vulnerability Factors), cognitive function (Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire) and morale(Measurement of Morale in the Elderly Scale, MMES) were taken for the 50 Korean elders (28 females and 22 males) with age over 65 who were visiting Jong Myo during January to February in 2004. RESULTS: 1) In Korean elders, the mean scores of total MMES were 100.82+/-12.36. According to the items, mean scores of Satisfaction were 43.52+/-5.14, Equanimity 36.80+/-7.53, Will-to-live 20.00+/-4.43. 2) The total MMES scores were significantly affected by variables such as income (p<0.05), economy (p<0.005), elder abuse (p<0.01) and depression (p<0.001). While other variables including age, residence, education, number of children, sex, religion, spouse, job, illness and cognitive function were not related. CONCLUSION: To encourage morale in the Korean elders, economic support by welfarism, socio-legal prevention of elder abuse, and active involvement of geropsychiatrists into the early detection and treatment of depression must be needed.
Aged ; Child ; Depression ; Education ; Elder Abuse ; Female ; Humans ; Morale* ; Spouses

PURPOSE: This study was to explore elderly people's elder abuse experiences, and the relations between the abuse experiences (direct and indirect) and their level of activities of daily living, family relations and self-integrity. METHOD: A descriptive survey was conducted, and the participants were 108 elderly people. Data were analyzed using SPSS by descriptive statistics and t-test. RESULT: It was that indirect abuse experiences of the elder was higher than direct abuse experiences. In this research, the most common kind of direct elder abuse was 'psychological abuse and negligence', and the severity was low. The largest portion of indirect abuse experiences belonged to 'physical abuse and negligence', and the severity was high. The older people who had direct abuse experiences showed lowered self-integrity and serious family problems and stress. CONCLUSION: The experiences of elder abuse showed differences in family relations and self integrity. Hence, there should be a nursing intervention improving psycho-social factors such as self integrity and family relations, and systematic and easily available supporting organizations for victims of elder abuse.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Elder Abuse ; Family Relations ; Humans

OBJECTIVES: The suicide rate has been increasing among the aged Koreans since 1990. However, there is few study on the epidemiology, causes, and strategies to help them. METHODS: The data were collected by the internet search for the journals and documents of studies on the suicide among aged Koreans from 1995 thru 2006. RESULTS: 1) The suicide rate (36.1 per 100,000) in the Korean elderly with age over 65 has been increasing over 50% since 1998, which estimated as 19.9 times of that in the general population. 2) The biopsychosocial factors possibly related to the elderly suicide in Korea are age, depression, bereavement, physical illness, elder abuse, poor economy and social support system. The poor economy, elder abuse and depression seemed to be the most influential. 3) The rate of the elderly suicide in Korea can be reduced with the active prevention by early detection and intervention of risk factors. CONCLUSION: The strategy including reduction of risk factors, regional welfare services and policy seems to be needed for the prevention of elderly suicide in Korea.
Aged* ; Bereavement ; Depression ; Elder Abuse ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Internet ; Korea ; Risk Factors ; Suicide*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to describe Korean nurses' willingness to report suspected elder abuse and examine its related factors. METHODS: A descriptive correlational design was used. A convenience sample of 365 nurses from a hospital completed our questionnaires. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to examine predictors of willingness to report. RESULTS: Sixty-eight nurses (18.6%) were not willing to report suspected elder abuse. In the stepwise logistic regression analysis, fewer years in clinical work, a higher level of knowledge on elder abuse law, and the perception of more severe abuse were found to be significant predictors of willingness to report elder abuse. CONCLUSION: As the Welfare of the Aged Act included a clause on mandated reporters, nurses' role in intervening in elder abuse cases has become more critical. In order to increase nurses' reporting, education on elder abuse should be provided to all nurses, and support programs should be designed for nurses to effectively involve them in reporting elder abuse.
Aged ; Elder Abuse ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Logistic Models ; Mandatory Reporting ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dependency and abuse on depression according to gender in widowed elderly. METHOD: A convenient sample consisted of 246 widowed elderly who were more than 65 years old in four cities. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire from August to September, 2002. A dependency Scale developed by Ahn (1999) was used to measure the level of dependency. Emotional abuse and physical abuse were measured by 10 items for emotional abuse and 7 items for physical abuse selected out of the Conditions Scale of Elder Abuse. The level of depression was measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).The SPSS WIN 11.0 version program was used for data analysis. RESULT: In male widowed elderly, dependency affected depression indirectly through emotional abuse. While in female widowed elderly, dependency affected depression directly and affected emotional abuse indirectly. CONCLUSION: The study showed that dependency was the most explainable variable on depression in widowed female elderly. Therefore, it dependency should be assessed first in nursing intervention to relieve depression of widowed elderly.
Widowhood/*psychology ; Male ; Humans ; Female ; Elder Abuse/*psychology ; Depression/*etiology ; *Dependency (Psychology) ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aged

Just these days elder abuse receives increasing social attention even though Korea already entered the ageing society with the steep increase of elderly population and this causes many social problems including elderly suicides. We need to develop methods to deal with these severe social problems, but, owing to lack of reliable data and studies, it is even difficult to document actual conditions of elder maltreatment. In a Korean nationwide epidemiological study conducted in 2007, the prevalence rate of elder abuse for last one year was 6.0%. Emotional abuse showed the highest prevalence (5.2%), and followed by neglect (2.3%), physical abuse (0.2%). The purpose of this study is to investigate the current prevalence and condition of elder maltreatment and provide the information about concept, types, risk factors and intervention of elder maltreatment.
Aged ; Elder Abuse ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Social Problems ; Suicide