Elder mistreatment in a rural area in Egypt

Mistreatment of the elderly is a hidden problem frequently cloaked under the shroud of family secrecy. The aim of the present study was to determine the extent of mistreatment of older people living at their homes in the rural area of Mansoura city, Dakahlia governorate, Egypt.

The present cross-sectional study was carried out on 1106 respondents, 518 men (mean age 67.6 ± 6.3 years) and 588 women (mean age 68.5 ± 8.4 years), who answered face-to-face survey questionnaires. The questionnaires used were; Questionnaire to elicit elder abuse, Actual abuse tool, Elder Assessment Instrument, Risk of abuse tool, Katz index and Geriatric depression scale 15 items.

Of the respondents, 43.7% reported mistreatment by family members. The predominant type of reported mistreatment was neglect (42.4%) followed by physical abuse (5.7%), psychological abuse (5.1%) and financial abuse (3.8%).

The independent risk factors for overall mistreatment of the elderly were older age, insufficient pension and caregiver other than spouse. Although being dependent, the number of children being three or less and caregiver other than spouse were significant independent attributes for "neglect" as a form of elder mistreatment.