UNDERSTANDING THE EFFICACY OF TELECONSULTATION IN ASSUAGING ABUSE AGAINST INDIAN WOMEN DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Covid-19 pandemic has impacted societal well-being in different and interacting contexts and its long duree consequences on human health, both biological and psychological serves to be a key element in the public discourse. The “pandemic-lockdown” in the Indian context made the health and social faultlines existing in the country hypervisible making one question the ‘normal’ we were existing with, in the pre-Covid times. As the virus took its toll on the fragile health system, nearly crushing it, individual’s rights to a safe and dignified life got threatened in the private spaces. The psycho-social effects of the pandemic arising from the exploitation in the public/private domains can be recognized as infringements with severe and sustained negative repercussions on the vulnerable sections of society. While analysing the intersecting vulnerabilities on varied fronts, another intense predicament related to women and elderly abuse in the (un)safe homely space awaits address and redressal. The nature of stressors underlying such abuse reflects on a complex interplay among several factors at an individual, community, and collective levels. The use of digital platforms, social media sites, and teleconsultation in moments of unprecedented crisis suggests towards creating an alternative paradigm for addressing the psychosocial dimension of the pandemic that lies intertwined with the “underlying injustices and social conditions”. In the backdrop of the Covid context, this paper would analyse how teleconsultation and telepsychiatry became an apparent channel to ensure health based services and extend support and safety to those victims and survivors of family abuse who remain marginalized in the society on sexist and ageist constructs.

Instituições geriátricas e negligência odontológica

Elderly abuse represents a whole of actions that include mistreatment, intentionally or not, or neglect against elder people. Mistreatment and neglect may be presence as restrictions, lack of basic care, poor hygiene, poor work conditions and lack of qualificated careers. Poor hygiene is the most serious problem of oral health on clependent elderly. In this population, oral hygiene must be provided. However, it has been constantly neglected, resulting in oral health collapse. Thc aim of this work is discuss some concepts and classify elderly abuse and neglect, list hypothesis of risk factors, review the legislation and identify the difficulties of caregivers. Furthermore, this study wants to stress the necessity of dentist's attention and responsibility of this issue. Dentists must be aware on this reality due to the high prevalence of oral health problems and needs in this group, emphasizing their social responsibility. Oral health care must be joined with the whole health attention, considering that quality of life of elderly people is strongly influenced by oral health conditions.

Prevalence and Factors Influencing Elderly Abuse: A Descriptive Study of Jureli Village, Bakaiya

The elderly abuse in a family is one of the most challenging problems in a society. The present study aims to assess the prevalence of elderly abuse in the family environment of JureliTole of Bakaiya Rural Municipality. The study also presents various risk factors that influence the prevalence of Elderly abuse. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 103 elders taken from household survey by using census method. The data were collected through a face-to-face structured interview schedule. The descriptive and regression analysis of the collected data showed that the prevalence of elderly abuse was 46.6% in the study population. This study measured significant association (p<0.05) of overall abuse against the elder with only two socio-demographic variables (literacy status and health status) among the variables (gender, age groups, living with or without spouse, literacy status, health status, dependency status, and income level). The results showed that the elders with/without spouse had the highest odds ratio to be abused (2.19 times) followed by gender (1.64 times), and health status (1.25 times). Although this study found lower prevalence than many previous studies, it is still significant and needs to be prevented. Based on the study, it can be said that living without a spouse, with poor health, and being female are the major predictive descriptors for elderly abuse.The policies and programs are needed for the prevention of elderly abuse which may require collective action from social, health and justice sectors.

Linkage of Depression with Elder Abuse among Institutionalized Older Persons in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Background. To identify the association between elderly abuse and depression among elderly living in old age homes of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 5 old age homes of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The Geriatric Mistreatment Scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale were used to collect information from 220 elderly aged 65 or above, and face-to-face interviews were conducted. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the association between elderly abuse and geriatric depression. Results. Among the different types of abuse analyzed, the multivariate analysis showed that neglect ( AOR = 2.995 ; CI: 1.249-7.181) and economical abuse ( AOR = 4.728 , CI: 1.836-12.173) were significantly associated with increased risk of geriatric depression. Furthermore, the study identified that future saving and absence of chronic disease significantly reduced the risk of psychological abuse, neglect, and geriatric depression. Conclusions. Neglect and economical abuse are a predictor of geriatric depression. Efforts should be directed to increase awareness about the different forms of abuse among the primary caregivers of the elderly. Counseling services and support programs should be introduced in old age homes to address the high burden of geriatric depression.

Locked Inside: Senior Citizens during Pandemic

<p>The right to the city, the right to livelihood, the right to move, the right to work, the right to being in a place have all got disrupted in the past few months. The unprecedented crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has sent waves of anxiety and panic throughout the world. The infection does not seem to spare any age group but the elderly are at a higher risk. Elder abuse is a universal pervasive problem of paramount public health importance that garners little attention. Elders suffer from abuse in various ways, like physical, psychological, sexual, material exploitation, and neglect, by their trustworthy caregivers. The elderly face social isolation and one need various ways to mitigate the adverse effects of social isolation. Potential risk factors are social isolation, cognitive impairment, traumatic life events, and dependence on abusers, poor physical and mental health and low social support are some of the concerns.</p><p>Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant social restrictive measures such as lockdown in most places throughout the world, elderly abuse has increased to a great extent. This paper discusses plausible reasons and various socio-cultural factors of elderly abuse. It could lead to the possibility of a menace into a ‘social pandemic’ in the future.</p>