What is the Status of Elderly Abuse in India: A Systematic Review Protocol

Elder abuse has been identified as one of the major problems of public health globally. Many types of mistreatment practices contribute to elder abuse. Also, the event has been known to occur in community as well as institutional settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. Elder abuse has been shown to affect the quality of life of individuals and increase premature mortality of the elderly. However, majority of elder abuse remains undocumented due to reasons such as fear and lack of awareness of one’s rights among others. Furthermore, the social construct of Indian societies makes the identification and acknowledgement of elder abuse challenging. Although, there have been studies and reports regarding the prevalence of elder abuse in India from various geographical regions, the strength of this evidence is unknown and a general view of prevalence of elder abuse in India is missing. We propose to undertake a systematic review and metanalysis of the published literature from India regarding the prevalence of elder abuse in any setting. For the purpose we will scan various indexing databases for identification of relevant studies and follow standard protocols and guidelines for formulation of evidence. The results of this study will give an entrusted overview of the status of elder abuse in India and aid policy-making initiatives and interventions to be directed accordingly.