Violence against the elderly in the Northeast region of Brazil from 2012 to 2018

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe violence against the elderly in the Northeast region of Brazil from 2012 to 2018. METHODOLOGY: Descriptive ecological time series study using secondary data from the Notifiable Disease Information System - SINAN for the period 2012 to 2018, available on the DATASUS website. The population consisted of elderly people aged 60 years and over. Variables were chosen: region of occurrence, year of notification, gender, race/color, education, place of occurrence, type of violence and characteristics of the aggressor. RESULTS: In the period, 18,357 cases of violence against the elderly were registered, with an increase, with the highest proportion in the state of Pernambuco (6668; 36.3%), with a predominance of females (9393; 51.2%), brown (11,250); 61.3%) and ? 3 years of education (4,238; 60.5%). It is observed that violence occurs predominantly in the elderly's own homes (11,174; 60.9%), with physical violence being the most frequent (28.0%), followed by neglect/abandonment (17.3%). Children committed the greatest number of cases of violence (5578; 43%). CONCLUSION: The number of cases of violence against the elderly increases every year in the Northeast region, with women with low education being the most affected. The data presented point to the need for specific interventions to prevent and control violence against the elderly.