Cross-sectional association between behavioral symptoms and potential elder abuse among subjects in home care in Italy: results from the Silvernet Study.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of potential elder abuse among older adults receiving home care and to assess the association between behavioral symptoms and potential abuse.


METHODS
Data on 4,630 subjects aged 65 or older receiving home care in Italy were collected using the Minimum Data Set for Home Care assessment. Potential abuse included signs of physical or emotional abuse and neglect. Behavioral symptoms were present if the participant exhibited one or more of the following symptoms in the 3 days before the assessment: wandering, verbally abusive, physically abusive, socially inappropriate behavior, and active resistance to care.


RESULTS
Mean age of participants was 80.5 years (standard deviation: 7.7) and 2,761 (60%) were female. Signs of potential abuse were identified in 336 of 3,869 (9%) participants without behavioral symptoms and 126 of 761 (17%) with behavioral symptoms. After adjustment for potential confounders, presence of behavioral symptoms was significantly associated with potential abuse (odds ratio [OR]: 1.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-2.00). Examining behavioral symptoms separately, wandering was negatively associated with potential abuse (OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.36-0.97), whereas other symptoms were positively associated with this outcome (verbally abusive behavior OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.24-2.31; physically abusive behavior OR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.00-2.03; socially inappropriate behavior OR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.26-2.53; active resistance of care OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.20-2.38).


CONCLUSIONS
Signs of potential abuse are common among older adults in home care in Italy and they are associated with the presence of behavioral symptoms.
Ogioni
Luciana
L
Geriatrics Sector, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Home for Ageing of Aeronáutica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Liperoti
Rosa
R
Landi
Francesco
F
Soldato
Manuel
M
Bernabei
Roberto
R
Onder
Graziano
G
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk