Background: The rising proportion of elderly in India exhibits concern for the well-being of this section of the population. It will be important to know what factors are responsible for elder abuse and also who commonly perpetrates abuse among elderly Objectives and Aims: The objective of the study is to find out the prevalence of elder abuse and profile of abuser in Maharashtra. The study also tried to examine the differences in elder abuse cases by several socio-economic characteristics, disability level, chronic conditions and age cohorts. Methods and Material: The data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) survey named "Building Knowledge base of Population Ageing in India" was used. The sample size was1435 respondents aged 60 and above. Cross-tabulation was done to assess the socioeconomic profile and elder abuse among elderly. Multivariate analysis named logistic regression was performed to know the important determinants of elder abuse and neglect Results: Around 35% of elderly in Maharashtra had faced any abuse. The percentage of elderly who faced verbal abuse (30.1%) was highest, followed by economic abuse (22.5%) and physical abuse (18.0%). Neighbors (56.1%), Sons (43.1%), Relatives (38.6%) and daughter in law (31.9%) were involved in the majority of the abuse cases. Education, wealth quintile, living alone and the presence of any disability and morbidity or injury was the important determinant of elder abuse. Conclusion: Elder abuse and neglect were quite high in Maharashtra. The policies and strategies need to form in order prevent abuse of elderly population in Maharashtra.

Exploring the role of socio-economic factors in Abuse and Neglect of Elderly population in Maharashtra, India (PDF Download Available).