Summary
A selection of recent articles presents a surprising consensus on the issues in question, across disparate international regions. First, an article written from the context of India:
Reference
Rina, K. Maiti, T. Panigrahi, M. Patro, B. Kar, N. [and] Padhy, SK. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on elder abuse. Journal of Geriatric Care and Research (JGCR). August 23rd 2020, Vol.7(3): pp.103-107.
A further article, originating from the USA:
Reference
Makaroun, LK. Bachrach, RL. [and] Rosland, AM. (2020). Elder abuse in the time of COVID-19 – increased risks for older adults and their caregivers. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. August 2020, Vol.28(8), pp.876–880.
A letter suggests:
“Caregivers of older adults with dementia or other medical conditions are under particular strain given their responsibilities and should be offered additional means of support and guidance”.
Reference
Han, SD. [and] Mosqueda, L. (2020). Elder abuse in the COVID-19 era. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. July 2020, Vol.68(7), pp.1386–1387.