TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF NOTIFICATIONS OF INTERPERSONAL AND SELF-INFLICTED VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ELDERLY IN BRAZIL

Abstract

Violence against the elderly is an increasingly frequent phenomenon, both in developed and developing countries. In Brazil, in 2011, universal notification of violence was implemented for some vulnerable groups, including the elderly. The present study aims to describe the characteristics of the reported cases and to evaluate the trend of notifications of violence against the elderly in Brazil. A time series study of reported cases of violence in people aged 60 years and over in Brazil between 2011 and 2023 was conducted. Between 2011 and 2023, 249,770 cases of violence against people aged 60 and over were reported in Brazil, 141,639 (56.7%) in women and 108,131 (43.3%) in men. Most of the violence occurred in the home (71.05%) and was classified as self-harm (13.79%). The use of physical force (54.54%) stands out, followed by negligence/abandonment (28.52%). In the period, there was an increase in the notification rates of violence in the elderly from 25.8 to 133.8 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants (AAPC = 12.1), both for self-inflicted violence and for interpersonal violence. To guarantee full citizenship to the elderly, it is necessary that health services are attentive to all forms of violence, establishing, in addition to case notification, access to comprehensive care, in addition to prevention actions.