title: Elder Abuse in a Developing Area in Bolivia.
abstract: In many parts of the world, elder abuse happens almost unnoticed. Until recently, this serious social problem was hidden from public view and was regarded as an essentially private matter. However, there is growing evidence that elder abuse is an important problem of public health and in the society. The objective of this study is to determine the degree of abuse of elder and vulnerable people in the families and communities of Eastern Bolivia. With this end in mind, we conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study with a sample size of 210 60-year-old people coming from different health care areas. Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI) and Yaffe's Evaluation Form of Social Work were used. An abuse rate of 39% of the older adults was identified. The most common type of abuse observed was psychological abuse (32.4% of cases), followed by neglect (21.9%). Children were identified as triggers of the abuse in 66.7% of cases of abuse. The prevalence of elder abuse was similar to the prevalence of other types of abuse that exist in Bolivia, such as the gender-based abuse. Also, this prevalence is comparable to other developing countries and European countries. The profile of abused older adult is as follows: woman, widow, 70 years old, incomplete primary education, without an occupation, and an average of 4.59 children. The information obtained shows that dysfunctional families have a higher percentage of elder abuse.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Carmona-Torres
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo Jesús
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: López-Soto
authors.affiliation: 2 Hospital Virgen Milagrosa, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
authors.forename: Ana Isabel
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Coimbra-Roca
authors.affiliation: 3 Autonomous University Gabriel René Moreno, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
authors.forename: Ruth Mary
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Gálvez-Rioja
authors.affiliation: 4 German Police University, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goergen
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Mª Aurora
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Borrego
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D001838:Bolivia; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012940:Social Problems; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: community violence; domestic violence; elder abuse; predicting domestic violence