Frailty and Elder Abuse Among Older Adults in Outpatient Settings in Nigeria: A Case-Control Study
E. L. Allagoa, C. G. Piwuna, U. Mariere, S. ReubenIntroduction
Background
Frailty and elder abuse are growing concerns among older adults, especially in low-resource settings like Nigeria. Frailty may increase vulnerability to abuse, yet evidence from outpatient psychiatric and general medical settings remains limited (Dong, 2015; Yon et al., 2017; Torres-Castro et al., 2018).
Objectives
To assess and compare the prevalence of elder abuse and frailty among older adults in General Outpatient (GOPD) and Psychiatric Clinics in a Nigerian teaching hospital, Jos University teaching Hospital, Jos and to explore associations with sociodemographic factors.
Methods
A case-control study of 140 adults aged ≥50 years (75 GOPD, 65 Psychiatry). Elder abuse, frailty, and sociodemographic data were collected using structured questionnaires. Analyses included chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests (Fulmer et al., 2005; Cooper et al., 2009; Bouillon et al., 2013), with significance at p < 0.05.
Results
Psychiatric patients were significantly older (p = 0.015) and more often female (p = 0.005). Overall elder abuse prevalence was high (69.3%), significantly greater in psychiatric outpatients (78.5%) than GOPD (61.3%; p = 0.028). Psychological, neglect, and financial abuse were particularly elevated in psychiatric patients (Dong et al., 2013; Santos et al., 2019). Frailty severity showed no significant difference between groups, and no association with abuse was identified (Shamliyan et al., 2013; Torres-Castro et al., 2018).
Overral Elder Abuse Prevalence Table 1. Long description.