Action plan for tackling violence against older adults in Brazil: analysis of indicators by states

Abstract

Objective

:to analyze the indicators of the action plan for tackling violence against older adults in Brazil, through temporal and spatial trends.

Method:

all nine indicators that form the plan were taken from the Sistema de Indicadores de Saúde e Acompanhamento de Políticas do Idoso (the Indicators of Health and Monitoring of Policies for Older Adults System). Time trend analysis was applied by Joinpoint Regression (CI95%), spatial distribution by states and clusters by Ward’s hierarchical agglomerative method, using quadratic Euclidean distance.

Results:

the study indicated a significant trend of an increase in notifications of cases of violence against older adults, of the hospitalization of older adults because of abuse, of the hospitalization of older adults because of femur fractures, of the mortality rate of older adults because of falls and of the hospitalization of older adults because of falls. Five clusters were formed, with two cluster formations standing out: that of the states of Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins, because of their high levels of hospitalization and mortality by traffic accidents and high levels of mortality by abuse; and that of the states of Espírito Santo, Goias, Mato Grosso do Sul, Parana, Rio Grande do Sul, Sao Paulo and Sergipe, because of their high levels of hospitalization and mortality by falling and fractures, as well as their high level of violence against older adults.

Conclusion

:records of violence against older adults are increasing in Brazil, with specific types of violence concentrated in specific regions of the country.

Keywords:
Older People; Health of the Elderly; Violence; Health Evaluation; Situational Diagnosis