Evaluation of emotional abuse perceived by the elderly living in nursing homes

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years, a significant increase in elderly population, modernization, industrial improvements, and greater involvement of women in the workforce have led to an increase in elder abuse. Elder abuse and frequent emotional abuse of the elderly have significant negative effects on their health and well-being. This study was conducted to evaluate the level of emotional abuse perceived by the elderly living in nursing homes. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out between June 15 and July 15, 2017, at the Nursing Home Elderly Care and Rehabilitation Center in Adana, Turkey. The study sample consisted of a total of 118 elderly individuals who were selected using a simple random sampling method. Research data were collected using a personal information form and the perceived emotional abuse scale for adults (PEASA). The study results were evaluated using the IBM SPSS Statistics 22 (IBM SPSS, Turkey) program. The statistical significance level was set at P 0.05). Conclusion: The study results showed that the mean PEASA score of elderly individuals living in nursing homes was slightly above the scale mean score in general, and these individual perceived moderate emotional abuse.

Keywords

• Elderly
• nursing homes
• perceived emotional abuse