Elder abuse and hospitalization in rural Malaysia

Muhammad Abbas M Firdaus; Raudah Mohd Yunus; Noran Naqiah Hairi; Wan Yuen Choo; Farizah Hairi; Leny Suzana Suddin; Rajini Sooryanarayana; Norliana Ismail; Devi Peramalah; Zainudin M Ali; Sharifah N Ahmad; Inayah A Razak; Sajaratulnisah Othman; Awang Bulgiba

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0270163

Elder abuse and hospitalization in rural Malaysia

PLoS One. 2022 Jun 24;17(6):e0270163. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270163. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Muhammad Abbas M Firdaus¹, Raudah Mohd Yunus^{2

3}, Noran Naqiah Hairi^{3

4

5}, Wan Yuen Choo^{3

6}, Farizah Hairi⁶, Leny Suzana Suddin², Rajini Sooryanarayana⁷, Norliana Ismail⁸, Devi Peramalah⁶, Zainudin M Ali⁹, Sharifah N Ahmad⁹, Inayah A Razak⁹, Sajaratulnisah Othman¹⁰, Awang Bulgiba³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh Campus, Sungai Buloh, Malaysia.
² Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh, Malaysia.
³ Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁴ Health and Well-being Research Cluster, Institute of Research Management and Monitoring, Research Management and Innovation Complex, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁵ Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia.
⁶ Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁷ Family Health Development Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
⁸ Disease Control Division, Tobacco Control Unit, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
⁹ Negeri Sembilan Health State Department, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
¹⁰ Department of Primary Care Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Our study aims to describe and determine factors associated with hospitalization among victims of elder abuse and neglect (EAN) in rural Malaysia. A cross sectional study based on the baseline data of the Malaysian Elder Mistreatment Project (MAESTRO) collected from November 2013 until July 2014 involving 1927 older adults in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan was conducted. EAN was determined using the modified Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) and hospitalization rates were determined based on self-report. The prevalence of overall EAN was 8.1% (95%CI 6.9-9.3). Among male respondents, 9.5% revealed history of abuse and among female respondents, 7.2% reported experiencing EAN. The annual hospitalization rates per 100 persons within the past one year among EAN victims and non-victims were 18 per 100 persons (SD = 46.1) and 15 per 100 persons (SD = 64.1) respectively. Among respondents with history of EAN, 16.0% (n = 21) had been hospitalized in the past 12 months while among respondents with no EAN experience, 10.2% (n = 153) were hospitalized. Multivariable analyses using Poisson regression did not show any significant association between EAN and hospitalization. This could be due to the complex interactions between medical and social circumstances that play a role in hospital admissions, factors affecting the health care system, and access to health care among EAN victims.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Elder Abuse*
Female
Hospitalization
Humans
Malaysia / epidemiology
Male
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Rural Population

Grants and funding

This study was funded primarily by the Prevent Elder Financial Exploitation 2.0 (PEACE 2.0) GA023-2021 and Geran Penyelidikan Dana UiTM Cawangan Selangor (DUCS 4.0) (600-UiTMSEL (PI 5/4) (020/2022)). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.