Addressing Elder Abuse in Rural Areas

Elder abuse, including financial, physical, and emotional abuse, as well as self-neglect, is too common and has serious implications for the health and well-being of older adults. Rural residents are older, on average, than urban residents, and rural older adults are in poorer health and have higher rates of disabilities than urban older adults. This may make rural older adults a more common target of elder abuse; however, little is known about rural/urban differences in the extent of elder abuse. Even less is known about within-rural differences in elder abuse by socio-demographic and geographic factors. This project will address those important gaps using two national data sources combined with qualitative data from a series of key informant interviews.