The population of old people is increasing world-wide. Along with the increase in their population, an increase in the cases of elder abuse is expected. This study identifies the knowledge of elder abuse and attitudes towards it among the adult attendees of Al Qatif primary health care centers (PHCCs) in Saudi Arabia. In this cross-sectional study, 430 participants at PHCCs, in Al Qatif, in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia completed a questionnaire concerning their knowledge of elder abuse and their attitudes toward the subjects of such abuse. A total of 430 subjects participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 35.6 years. Participants included both caregivers (n = 93) and non-caregivers (n = 337). The overwhelming majority of respondents 97% stated that it is their individual responsibility to report elder abuse and neglect if they witness any. Similarly, (91.8%) of the participants agreed that elder abuse and neglect is a criminal act and they have the responsibility to prevent such abuse and neglect. Also, (90.7%) were aware of financial abuse, and (93.5%) believed that using swear words can be considered abuse, as it is not part of their culture. The majority of them (90.5%) agreed that occasional manhandling of the older people is violence/abuse. Most of the participants regarded abuse and neglect of the older people as a serious problem and considered it their responsibility to intervene when they encountered it. Further efforts are required to explore the factors associated with elder abuse to utilize that knowledge in the development of effective interventions to prevent such abuse.

中文翻译：

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东部省沙特阿拉伯社区中有关虐待老年人的知识和态度

世界范围内的老年人口正在增加。随着人口的增加，虐待老年人的案件预计会增加。这项研究确定了沙特阿拉伯Al Qatif初级卫生保健中心（PHCC）的成年参加者中对虐待老年人的知识及其态度。在这项横断面研究中，沙特阿拉伯王国卡提夫市的初级保健中心的430名参与者完成了一份问卷，调查表涉及他们对虐待老年人的了解以及对虐待对象的态度。共有430名受试者参加了这项研究。受访者的平均年龄是35.6岁。参加者包括照料者（n = 93）和非照料者（n = 337）。绝大多数的受访者97％表示，举报虐待和忽视老人行为是个人的责任。同样，（91.8％）的参与者同意，虐待和忽视老年人是一种犯罪行为，他们有责任防止这种虐待和忽视。此外，（90.7％）意识到财务上的滥用，并且（93.5％）认为使用脏话可被视为滥用，因为这不是他们文化的一部分。他们中的大多数人（90.5％）同意，偶尔对老年人的处理是暴力/虐待。大多数参与者认为虐待和忽视老年人是一个严重的问题，并认为他们有责任在遇到老年人时进行干预。