Physiotherapeutic interventions aimed at old people in situations of violence: a scope review

Abstract Objective Identify physical therapy interventions aimed at old people in situations of violence. Method This is a scope review, in which the following databases/libraries/search engines and gray literature were accessed: VHL, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, PEDro, BDTD, OpenGrey, OpenThesis, RCAAP, CAPES Thesis and Dissertation Portal, DART-Europe E-theses Portal and Theses Canada Portal. The searches used the descriptors and keywords, which were combined using the Boolean operators OR and AND: Fisioterapeutas, Fisioterapia, “Physical Therapists”, Physiotherapy, “Physical Therapy”, “Physical Therapy Specialty”, “Physical Therapy Modalities”, Rehabilitation, Reabilitação, “Elder Abuse”, “Maus-tratos ao Idoso”, “Physical Abuse”, “Elder Neglect”, “Aged Abuse” e “Elder Mistreatment”. Results Of the 601 records found, 46 were excluded because they were duplicated, and 555 were selected to read the respective titles and abstracts. 548 publications were excluded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria, and 7 papers were pre-selected. Through the Snowballing strategy, one was identified, resulting in a final result of 8 studies. Conclusion Physical therapy interventions aimed at old people in situations of violence include: health education, measures of caregiver stress, community resources, screening/triage, evaluation, identification, therapeutic/rehabilitation plan and reporting. In view of the findings, it is observed that, despite the lack of knowledge on this topic, the physiotherapist plays an essential role in the conduct of cases of violence against old people.