Elder abuse risk factors: Perceptions among older Chinese, Korean, Punjabi, and Tamil immigrants in Toronto

Elder abuse is a significant concern worldwide. Several factors are reported to increase the risk for elder abuse, but little is known about which factors are most relevant to immigrant communities. This study explored perceptions of risk factors for elder abuse among older immigrants, which is the first step toward designing effective interventions.

This cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted between 2017 and 2019 in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada and involved a convenience sample (N = 173) of older women and men from Chinese, Korean, Punjabi, and Tamil immigrant communities. Participants completed a questionnaire about the frequency and importance of risk factors of elder abuse in their respective community. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data within each immigrant community and analysis of variance to compare the factor ratings across communities.

The immigrant communities differed (p < .05) in their perception of the risk factors. Factors rated as frequent and important (x̅ > 2.0 - midpoint of the rating scale) were social isolation, financial dependence, and lack of knowledge of English for Korean; financial dependence, physical dependence, and emotional dependence for Chinese; lack of knowledge of English, emotional dependence, and physical dependence for Tamil; and social isolation for Punjabi.

The findings highlight the need for collaboration among public health and social services to work with immigrant communities in co-designing interventions to address these key risk factors and thereby reduce the risk of elder abuse.