Citation

Burnett J, Jackson SL, Sinha AK, Aschenbrenner A, Murphy KP, Xia R, Diamond PM. J. Elder Abuse Negl. 2016; 28(2): 59-75.

Affiliation

Consortium on Aging, UT Health Houston , Houston , Texas , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/08946566.2016.1142920

PMID

26797389

Abstract

Elder abuse increases the likelihood of early mortality, but little is known regarding which types of abuse may be resulting in the greatest mortality risk. This study included N=1670 cases of substantiated elder abuse and estimated the 5-year all-cause mortality for five types of elder abuse (caregiver neglect, physical and emotional abuse, financial exploitation and polyvictimization). Statistically significant differences in 5-year mortality risks were found between abuse types and across gender. Caregiver neglect and financial exploitation had the lowest survival rates; underscoring the value of considering the long-term consequences associated with different forms of abuse. Likewise, mortality differences between genders and abuse types indicate the need to consider this interaction in elder abuse case investigations and responses. Further mortality studies are needed in this population to better understand these patterns and implications for public health and clinical management of community-dwelling elder abuse victims.

Language: en