Physical violence among elderly: analysis of admissions to an emergency department

BACKGROUND: Physical violence is defined as deliberate use of physical force likely to result in trauma, bodily injury, pain, or impairment. Present study is pioneering effort to evaluate mechanisms and sociodemographic features of physical violence targeting the elderly in Turkey and to investigate preventive measures. METHODS: Database records and forensic reports were analyzed in this retrospective study of 54 elderly patients with trauma as result of physical violence who were admitted to emergency department of Sanliurfa Training and Research Hospital between January 2012 and July 2013. RESULTS: Of the 54 patients evaluated, 50 (92.4%) were male. History of experiencing previous violence was described by 55.6% (n = 30) of the patients. Instances of repeat violence and firearm injuries most often occurred in the home (p = 0.006, p = 0.007). Need for surgical treatment was also greater among cases that occurred in the home (p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: Firearm injury, recurrent violence, and surgical treatment rates were higher among cases that occurred in the home. Urgent preventive measures are especially needed for the elderly who have already been victims of physical violence.