title: [Factors associated with non-institutional abuse in nursing homes].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abuse in elderly has dimensions not yet sufficiently explored. Particularly, little is known about the abuse or mistreatment suffered by old people in nursing homes, but where the origin is not, at least initially, institutional, since is perpetrated by external social agents not related to the nursing home. The lack of data in this area has led us to conduct this exploratory study, with the aim of assessing the prevalence of this non-institutional abuse.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Elder Abuse Suspicion Index was administered to a total of 286 subjects belonging to the nursing homes from the «Mensajeros de la Paz» Association of Murcia. Cases of suspected abuse were referred to the social workers to confirm the diagnosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Initially, 53 subjects (18.5%) suffered any kind of abuse, which was reduced to only 26 cases after one year. On the other hand, abuse appeared after admission in 20 subjects (7%). Precisely, this 7% might present what we called non-institutional abuse. Economic abuse was the most prevalent, followed by psychological, neglect, physical, and sexual abuse. The data showed a significant interaction between the different types of abuse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data provides evidence of a new scenario that must be addressed in a professional and social context, considering the environment where this mistreatment takes place. Health and social professionals must be sensitive to this reality, and should be informed and trained about the different ways to dignify the care of the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Asociación Mensajeros de la Paz, Murcia, España; Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad Católica de Murcia, Murcia, España. Electronic address: coordinacionregional@mensajerosdelapazmurcia.es.
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gómez Martínez
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad Católica de Murcia, Murcia, España.
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hernández Morante
authors.affiliation: Asociación Mensajeros de la Paz, Murcia, España.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carrasco Martínez
authors.affiliation: Asociación Mensajeros de la Paz, Murcia, España.
authors.forename: Agustín
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García Belzunce
authors.affiliation: Asociación Mensajeros de la Paz, Murcia, España.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nicolás Alarcón
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004552:Elder Abuse; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012931:Social Environment
keywords: Elderly; Familia; Family; Home nursing; Maltratador; Maltrato no institucional; Non-institutional abuse; Perpetrator; Persona mayor; Residencia