Prevalence of Elder Abuse in an Urban Slum in North India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Elder abuse is a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person. The abuse can be in the form of verbal, psychological, physical, financial, neglect or sexual that can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of vulnerability of the elderly to abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic in an urban slum which is the field practice are of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh. It was an observational, analytical cross-sectional study in which the participants of age >60 years were interviewed using Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale (VASS). A score of more than 4 indicated presence of abuse. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We interviewed 206 participants. The median age was 67 (IQR=10) years and 65% of them were males. While 12.1 % lived alone, 23.8% of them were living away from the family. The prevalence of elderly abuse was 13.1% in our study population that was significantly associated with female gender, illiteracy, having at least diabetes mellitus or hypertension, and living alone or living away from the family. It is recommended that the elderly should be treated with utmost care and love especially during the pandemic time when they are more vulnerable to abuse. Keywords Abuse; COVID-19; Elder; Slum; VASS