The determination of abuse, depression and successful aging situations in age 65 and over elder in Battalgazi district of Malatya Province and the factors affecting these situations

Aim: The population aged 65 and over is increasing in the World and Turkey. One of the major problems of this increasing population is abuse. The abuse is stored and not revealed because it is difficult for the elderly to speak out. It is a difficult situation to be accepted and prevented by the elderly. Nowadays, violence against women and child abuse are more common. Studies on elder abuse are extremely limited. Depression is also common in these ages. For this reason, it was aimed to reveal the abuse and depression and the relationship between abuse, depression and successful aging states in individuals aged 65 years and older. Material and method: The population of this cross-sectional study is composed of 65 years old and older people living in Battalgazi district of Malatya. In this study, 595 people were reached. In the questionnaire we used as data collection tool; in addition to socio-demographic characteristics information form, Hwalek -Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale and Successful Aging Scale were included. Chi-Square, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis variance analysis, Spearman Correlation test and Binominal Logistic Regression test were used for the analysis of the data. Results: The mean age of the participants was 70.09 ± 5.78 and 56% were male. 23.2% of the participants were abused and 27.7% had symptoms of depression. The abuse status of the participants is affected by variables such as marital status, health status, psychiatric disease history, presence of caregivers, presence of caregiver and successful aging status (p <0.05). The presence of depressive symptoms in the participants was affected by gender, age, marital status, education and income level, presence of chronic disease, history of psychiatric disease, presence of caregiver, presence of abuse and successful aging (p <0.05). Conclusion: Depression and abuse are common in the elderly and are preventable public health problems. There is a relationship between successful aging and abuse and depression. Interventions should be planned considering the vulnerable groups for depression and abuse.