title: Abuse and maltreatment in the elderly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aging population is increasing worldwide, but the abuse and mistreatment in the elderly (often silenced forms) has also been increasing, with strong implications for their quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify forms of abuse and ill-treatment in the elderly, as well as the determinants of these abuses.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a quantitative study, of the non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional type attended by 135 Portuguese elderly. It uses the Family APGAR Scale and the Question to Elicit Elder Abuse (QEEA), which was applied between January and June 2013, in the elderly residing in the central of Portugal.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The data shows that 23.5% of the elderly have suffered some kind of abuse, these being especially of the emotional kind and neglect. We also found that the most abused elders were unmarried and widows, those who had lower academic qualifications, those who reported feeling lonely and less healthy and even those who perceive to integrate families with some degree of dysfunction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that the abuse and mistreatment are present in the everyday life of many seniors and are a difficult subject to approach. The evidence, invite us to reflect on the development of intervention strategies, particularly at the levels of emotional abuse, neglect, promotion of health and family functioning in order to contribute to the reduction or extinction of abuse and ill-treatment in the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior de Saúde de Viseu, CI&DETS, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal. Electronic address: rmartins.viseu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior de Saúde de Viseu, CI&DETS, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior de Saúde de Viseu, CI&DETS, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Albuquerque
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
keywords: Abuse; Aging; Elderly; Mistreatment; Violence