Kontakt X:X | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2025.058

Breaking the silence: a qualitative study on older adults' perspectives and lived experiences of elder abuseSociální vědy ve zdraví - původní práce

Miroslava Tokovska ORCID...1, *, Vanessa Nolasco Ferreira ORCID...2, Jana Šolcová ORCID...3, Andrea Seberíni ORCID...4
1 Kristiania University of Applied Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Department of Health and Exercise, Oslo, Norway
2 Kristiania University of Applied Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Department of Psychology, Pedagogy and Law, Bergen, Norway
3 Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Faculty of Education, Department of Social Work, Slovak Republic
4 Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics, Slovak Republic

Background: Elder abuse represents a significant social and public health challenge in Slovakia, yet little is known about older adults' experiences with this phenomenon.

Objective: This qualitative study examined the perspectives and lived experiences of older adults regarding elder abuse.

Methods: Asynchronous email interviews were conducted with 27 participants (15 female, 12 male) aged 65-81 years from urban and rural Slovakia. Data were collected between September-October 2023 and analyzed using systematic text condensation.

Results: Three main themes emerged: (1) unfamiliarity with sources of help (85% reported lacking knowledge about available services), (2) police as universal authority, help, and protection (89% identified law enforcement as primary protection), and (3) education to raise awareness. Participants described lived experiences with various forms of abuse, particularly financial exploitation and psychological abuse, while highlighting significant gaps in their knowledge of available support.

Conclusion: The findings reveal that older adults in Slovakia have limited awareness of protective services beyond law enforcement, face significant trust barriers in reporting abuse, and express strong desires for targeted educational initiatives.

Klíčová slova: Elder abuse; Financial exploitation; Older adults' perspectives; Psychological abuse; Qualitative research; Slovakia
Granty a financováni:

This research was funded by Norway through the Norway Funds under the project: BIN SGS02_2021_002 University Enhancing the Smart Active Ageing.

Střet zájmů:

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

Vloženo: 3. duben 2025; Revidováno: 21. srpen 2025; Přijato: 22. září 2025; Zveřejněno online: 26. listopad 2025 

Sdílet...
Stáhnout citaci
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Zobrazit celý článek

    Reference

    1. Amri C, Angelakis I, Logan D (2021). Utilizing asynchronous email interviews for health research: Overview of benefits and drawbacks. BMC Res Notes 14(1): 148. DOI: 10.1186/s13104-021-05586-9. Přejít k původnímu zdroji... Přejít na PubMed...
    2. Atkinson E, Roberto KA (2024). Global approaches to primary, secondary, and tertiary elder abuse prevention: A scoping review. Trauma Violence Abuse 25(1): 150-165. DOI: 10.1177/15248380211036064. Přejít k původnímu zdroji...
    3. Cangar M, Cangarova L, Krupa S (2023). Deinstitutionalisation of social services in Slovakia: Analysis of situation in the country. Co-funded by the European Union. [online] [cit. 2023-12-10]. Available from: https://podporatransformace.cz/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Slovakia_analysis_final.pdf
    4. Dobrovodsky R (2016). K prevenčnej a sanačnej funkcii rodinnoprávnej úpravy od 1. 1. 2016 [On the preventive and remedial function of family law from 1. 1. 2016]. Sociálna prevencia 2: 30-33.
    5. Dow B, Gahan L, Gaffy E, Joosten M, Vrantsidis F, Jarred M (2020). Barriers to disclosing elder abuse and taking action in Australia. J Fam Viol 35: 853-861. DOI: 10.1007/s10896-019-00084-w. Přejít k původnímu zdroji...
    6. Draková Z (2020). Násilie páchané na senioroch ako závažný problém v súčasnosti [Violence against seniors as a serious current problem]. Sociálne vedy 4: 66-69. Přejít k původnímu zdroji...
    7. Harbison J, Coughlan S, Beaulieu M, Karabanow J, VanderPlaat M, Wildeman S, Wexler E (2012). Understanding "elder abuse and neglect": A critique of assumptions underpinning responses to the mistreatment and neglect of older people. J Elder Abuse Negl 24(2): 88-103. DOI: 10.1080/08946566.2011.644086. Přejít k původnímu zdroji... Přejít na PubMed...
    8. Teo K, Churchill R, Riadi I, Kervin L, Wister AV, Cosco TD (2022). Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Older Adults: A Scoping Review. J Appl Gerontol 41(5): 1500-1510. DOI: 10.1177/07334648211067710 Přejít k původnímu zdroji... Přejít na PubMed...
    9. Lumsden K, Snee H (Ed.) (2022). How to conduct asynchronous interviews. Sage Research Methods: Doing Research Online. DOI: 10.4135/9781529608212. Přejít k původnímu zdroji...
    10. Malterud K (2012). Systematic text condensation: A strategy for qualitative analysis. Scand J Public Health 40(8): 795-805. DOI: 10.1177/1403494812465030. Přejít k původnímu zdroji... Přejít na PubMed...
    11. Máriássyová A, Ujházyová M (2021). Násilie na senioroch a seniorkách a ich diskriminácia [Violence against senior citizens and their discrimination]. Slovak National Centre for Human Rights. [online] [cit. 2023-10-10]. Available from: http://www.snslp.sk/wp-content/uploads/Nasilie-na-senioroch-a-seniorkach.pdf
    12. Mikton C, Campo-Tena L, Yon Y, Beaulieu M, Shawar YR (2022). Factors shaping the global political priority of addressing elder abuse: a qualitative policy analysis. Lancet Healthy Longev 3(8): e531-e539. DOI: 10.1016/S2666-7568(22)00143-X. Přejít k původnímu zdroji... Přejít na PubMed...
    13. Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic (2023). Správa o stave a vývoji kriminality páchanej na senioroch za rok 2023 [Report on the status and development of crime against seniors for 2023]. [online] [cit. 2023-01-10]. Available from: https://www.employment.gov.sk/files/sk/ministerstvo/rada-vlady-slovenskej-republiky-prava-seniorov-prisposobovanie-verejnych-politik-procesu-starnutia-populacie/spravy-vyvoji-kriminality-pachanej-senioroch/Sprava-stave-vyvoji-kriminality-pachanej-senioroch-za-rok-2023.pdf
    14. Negrin KA, Slaughter SE, Dahlke S, Olson J (2022). Successful recruitment to qualitative research: A critical reflection. Int J Qual Methods 21: 160940692211195. DOI: 10.1177/16094069221119576. Přejít k původnímu zdroji...
    15. OECD & European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2023). Slovak Republic: Country Health Profile 2023. [online] [cit. 2023-12-10]. Available from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/slovak-republic-country-health-profile-2023_4b7ba58c-en
    16. Ouchi Y, Rakugi H, Arai H, Akishita M, Ito H, Toba K, Kai I (2017). Redefining the elderly as aged 75 years and older: Proposal from the Joint Committee of Japan Gerontological Society and the Japan Geriatrics Society. Geriatr Gerontol Int 17(7): 1045-1047. DOI: 10.1111/ggi.13118. Přejít k původnímu zdroji... Přejít na PubMed...
    17. Parker C, Scott S, Geddes A (2020). Snowball sampling. In: Atkinson P, Delamont S, Cernat A, Sakshaug JW, Williams RA (Eds). SAGE Research Methods Foundations. DOI: 10.4135/9781526421036831710. Přejít k původnímu zdroji...
    18. Ratislavová K, Ratislav J (2014). Asynchronous email interview as a qualitative research method in the humanities. Hum Aff 24: 452-460. DOI: 10.2478/s13374-014-0240-y. Přejít k původnímu zdroji...
    19. Repkova K, Balogová B (2013). Prevencia zlého zaobchádzania so staršími ľuďmi ako verejná politika: terminológia, koncepty a diagnostika [Prevention of elder abuse as public policy: Terminology, concepts and diagnostics]. Bratislava, Slovakia: IVPR, pp. 1-160.
    20. Schmahl G (2022). The Slovak long-term care system. Journal of Eastern Europe Research in Business and Economics. Article 212233. DOI: 10.5171/2022.212233. Přejít k původnímu zdroji...
    21. WHO (2015). World report on ageing and health. [online] [cit. 2023-12-10]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/186463
    22. WHO (2023). Abuse of older people. [online] [cit. 2023-12-10]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abuse-of-older-people
    23. Yon Y, Ramiro-Gonzalez M, Mikton CR, Huber M, Sethi D (2019). The prevalence of elder abuse in institutional settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Public Health 29(1): 58-67. DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/cky093. Přejít k původnímu zdroji... Přejít na PubMed...
    24. Yunus RM, Hairi NN, Choo WY (2019). Consequences of Elder Abuse and Neglect: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies. Trauma Violence Abuse 20(2): 197-213. DOI: 10.1177/1524838017692798. Přejít k původnímu zdroji... Přejít na PubMed...

    Tento článek je publikován v režimu tzv. otevřeného přístupu k vědeckým informacím (Open Access), který je distribuován pod licencí Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), která umožňuje nekomerční distribuci, reprodukci a změny, pokud je původní dílo řádně ocitováno. Není povolena distribuce, reprodukce nebo změna, která není v souladu s podmínkami této licence.


    Návrat zpět