Medicine
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/12
This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Elder abuse among out patient department attendees in a tertiary hospital(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2009) Edirisinghe, P.A.S.; Paranitharan, P.; Perera, W.N.S.; Shehan, W.BACKGROUND: Abuse of older people is a hidden problem in society. Older people are frightened or embarrassed to report its presence. The extent of the problem is not studied adequately in Sri Lanka. METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted at the North Colombo Teaching Hospital, outpatient department on 530 consecutive adults over 60 years of age. The Hwalek-Sengstock Elder abuse screening test which was assessed for face validity and content validity among 50 older persons and modified, was used for data collection along with a brief demographic questionnaire. Those with a mini-mental state examination score of 23 or less were excluded from the study. Data was collected by trained medical officers after informed written consent from the subjects. Confidentiality of the information provided was assured. RESULTS: 348 females (65%) and 182 males (35%) were included in the study. The mean age was 68.5 years. 26 (5.6%) reported physical abuse of whom 14 (2.6%) had been struck, slapped or kicked and five had received medical attention for injuries. Three had made a Police complaint. Up to 136 (25%) had perceived emotional abuse. 53 (10%) had experienced derogatory remarks and 12 (2. 3%) had been threatened with punishment and institutionalisation. 20 (3.7%) claimed neglect and 116 (22%) claimed their caregiver was financially dependent on them. There was no significant difference among the sexes. CONCLUSIONS: Physical, emotional and financial abuse of elders is present in our study population. The numbers although small, may represent only the tip of the iceberg.Item Elder abuse among outpatient department attendees in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2014) Edirisinghe, P.A.S.; Paranitharn, P.; Perera, W.N.S.; Williams, S.S.OBJECTIVES: Abuse of older people is a hidden problem. Some believe that it is less in Asian societies as the extended family is a protective factor. The real extent of the problem however, is not researched adequately in Sri Lanka. METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted at the North Colombo Teaching Hospital on 530 consecutive adults above 60 years of age attending the out-patient department. The Hwalek-Sengstock elder abuse screening test with modifications to address socio-cultural differences was administered. A brief demographic questionnaire and questions on past and present abuse were also included. RESULTS: Out of 530 elders studied, 32 (6%) were above 80 years of age and the mean age was 68.5 years. Male to female ratio was 1:2. Abuse, either physical, psychological, verbal or neglect was reported by 239 (45%) elders. Physical abuse was reported by 5.6%. The screening test revealed that the study population was vulnerable to psychological and financial abuse. Total overall rate of abuse was 38.5%. Loneliness was reported by 26%. Of the caregivers, 22% were financially dependent on the elders. Having more than three children was a risk factor for psychological and financial abuse and being single was a risk factor for psychological abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Physical, emotional and financial abuse of elders were reported in our study population. A limitation of this study was that it studied elders who sought treatment at a tertiary care hospital. Community studies will be needed to establish the true prevalence of elder abuse.