Prevalence of Financial Fraud and Scams Among Older Adults in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

• Autores: David Burnes, Charles R. Henderson Jr., Christine Sheppard, Rebecca Zhao, Karl Pillemer, Mark S. Lachs
• Localización: American journal of public health, ISSN 0090-0036, Vol. 107, Nº. 8, 2017, págs. 13-21
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Background. The financial exploitation of older adults was recently recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a serious public health problem. Knowledge of the prevalence of elder financial exploitation is mostly limited to the category of financial abuse, which occurs in relationships involving an expectation of trust. Little is known about the other major category of elder financial exploitation--elder financial fraud and scams, which is perpetrated by strangers. A valid estimate of elder financial fraud-scam prevalence is necessary as a foundation for research and prevention efforts. Objectives. To estimate the prevalence of elder financial fraud-scam victimization in the United States based on a systematic review and meta-analysis. Search methods. Multiple investigators independently screened titles and abstracts and reviewed relevant full-text records from PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Social Work Abstracts, and AgeLine databases. Selection criteria. To maximize the validity and generalizability of prevalence estimation, we restricted eligibility to general populationbased studies (English speaking, 1990 onward) using state- or national-level probability sampling and collecting data directly from older adults. Data collection and analysis. Information on elder financial fraud-scam prevalence and study-level characteristics was extracted independently by 2 investigators. Meta-analysis of elder financial fraud-scam prevalence used generalized mixed models with individual studies as levels of a random classification factor. Main results. We included 12 studies involving a total of 41 711 individuals in the meta-analysis. Overall pooled elder financial fraud-scam prevalence (up to 5-year period) across studies was 5.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.0%, 7.8%), with a 1-year period prevalence of 5.4% (95% CI = 3.2%, 7.6%). Studies using a series of questions describing specific fraud-scam events to measure victimization found a significantly higher prevalence (7.1%; 95% CI = 4.8%, 9.4%) than studies using a single, generalquestion self-report assessment approach (3.6%; 95% CI = 1.8%, 5.4%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]