The elderly, COVID-19, and violence: A qualitative content analysis

Violence against the elderly is one of the types of domestic violence that is one of the major social health problems in modern societies and whose incidence has increased sharply in the last two decades, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims at explaining the concept of violence against the elderly during lockdown and the epidemic of COVID-19.

This qualitative study was conducted with a conventional content analysis approach in Izeh (a city in Khuzestan Province) in 2021. The data were collected through conducting unstructured interviews as well as taking field notes with as many as 13 elderly family members. After obtaining informed consent, the collected data were written word for word, and the content analysis method was applied to name the data, create analytical codes, and determine subgroups and categories. The data were analyzed using MAXQDA-10.

The results of this study indicated that the elderly who have been subjected to violence have many ambiguities in the process of identifying and dealing with the violence inflicted on them; the fear of being rejected by family members and their escalated violence make the violence remain hidden.

Given their failure to seek help and the lack of support provided by the related organizations, the elderly did not report violence inflicted on them, which in turn led to the spread of violence against them. Thus, it is recommended that nurses and health policymakers provide the required planning to address the problems of violence against the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic era.