Health Professionals and Ageism - Assignment Example

Pg Health professionals and the organisations in which they work are often criticised for holding ageist views which influence health care andpractice. These ageist views could be a source of great angst and problems for the aged both now, and certainly in the future when an older generation becomes an even larger percentage of general society. Ageism is a term used to describe a viewpoint that discriminates against the aged, or, in other words "old" people. Age, as a word, is defined in Webster's Dictionary as 3). A stage of life, and if you add the suffix 'ist' (meaning to specialize) to the stem, the new word has the meaning 'someone who specializes in various stages of life'. To specialize on various stages of life can sometime lead to the person specializing becoming so well acquainted with their subject(s) that their attitudes are jaded. What this paper will examine is if this ageism is prevalent in the health care and medical industries and if so, if those attitudes are a detriment to the care of the elderly, especially in regards to the health care industry, or the people that are employed in that particular section of society. The paper will seek to discover whether ageism is more prevalent in the health care industry than other industries, and if it is, what can be done to overcome that problem. "Studies have consistently shown that younger people, including health-professional students, accept common stereotypes about older people and growing older. Some of the common ageist stereotypes include that people over 80 years have homogenous characteristics; that they are likely to be rigid, conservative, smelly, unattractive, asexual, frail, disengaged, inflexible in attitude and unlikely to learn new skills" Mandy (2004). Pg 2 Mandy's study included many individuals in the health-care industry, as well as others and found that ageist views are a problem for both health-care professionals and society in general. Many experts believe that as the world population gets older, that the aged will experience even more prejudice than what they experience even now. Much of this prejudice will come from an industry that is already deeply entwined with the elderly, and will probably be even more so in the future, considering the fact that with aging comes more health problems which could be why there is already so much prejudice in the health-care industry already. The problem could be growing larger based on the number of people entering "old age" as compared to other age groups. "As economic and political development continues, mortality rates in middle and later life fall because of better living conditions and better health care. Death rates are falling because people are fitter and because ill and disabled people are being kept alive for longer periods of time" Mandy (2004). If there is currently a problem and the generation that is most affected by this problem is growing larger both in numbers and as a percentage of the general population it follows that the problem itself could grow as well. "The myths of aging provide a partial explanation for why older people have not been primary targets for health promotion and disease-prevention programs. Accelerated population aging signals an urgent need for increased attention to health promotion and disease-prevention interventions across the entire life course" Dry (2003). Pg 3 Dry's study showed that older people are not the primary targets for health promotion, which could be due to the fact that they are being discriminated against by the industry that is the primary source for continuing their health and maintenance. Why would an industry whose primary focus should be on providing care for all patients, but most especially the elderly who need it most, hold a prejudicial view against those very same people The same study showed that "ageist stereotypes are pervasive in United States society and harmful to older adults' psychological well-being, physical and cognitive functioning, and survival" Dry (2003). The answer to the above question could be that the health care industry is a victim of its own circumstances. Because the individuals in the health care industry are in daily, constant, intimate contact with an older age group of people (overall), and oftentimes proximity breeds contempt, the health care industry then can be said to be a big part of the problem, but the opportunity exists for the industry to also be a big part of the solution. If a solution can be found that can be applied throughout the medical field, it would probably be the one industry that could most effectively implement and solutions. In regards to "old" people and the way that they are treated, Minichiello had this to say, "While few have experienced overt or brutal ageism, interaction in everyday life involves some negative treatment, occasional positive 'sageism', and others 'keeping watch' for one's vulnerabilities. Health professionals are a major source of ageist treatment" Minichiello (2000). Pg 4 As the population grows older, more and more of the older generation will come in contact with those who work in the health care field. These older individuals, therefore, need to be aware of, and actively campaign against such treatment. "Active ageing is viewed as a positive way of presenting and interpreting oneself as separate from the 'old' group. Informants recognise that older people as a group experience negative treatment in terms of poor access to transport and housing, low incomes, forced retirement and inadequate nursing home care" Minichiello (2000). The term 'active ageing' pertains to those older individuals who do not accept the 'normal' conditions of their advanced years. Examples of these individuals are; the octogenarian who recently parachuted from an aero plane, the 82 year-old gentleman who ran a marathon, and the 65 year-old grandmother who rode a motorcycle across the United States. These individuals do much to alleviate the problem of ageism. Society needs more of these type of people to counteract the prevailing ageist attitudes.. Proof of these ageist views in the health care industry, against this segment of society, can be found in the rate of older people who are released from the hospital after a certain time frame as compared to the release rate for younger aged persons. "Older people's views about the help they need are often complex and may sometimes be at odd with what professionals view as in their best interest. However, they deserve to be treated in ways that counter ageist assumptions" Postle (2005). Pg 5 Delayed release for elderly individuals from a hospital environment has risks associated with it, but those are risks that do not have to be assumed and they seem to be strongly connected to ageism. Postle said; "Renfrewshire's creative approach to tackling older people's delayed discharge from the hospital is very encouraging, particularly as news of risks from hospital-acquired infections emerges. What a pity that it was couched in language which appeared to position an older person as a naughty child who was 'allowed' to return home 'on the condition she received help' Postle (2005). Postle was referring to a researcher who was espousing the fact that hospitals were not paying attention to the concerns of the elderly, instead the hospital personnel would keep the elderly in the hospital longer, allowing the opportunity for these people to acquire infections at a higher rate, because the health care professionals did not seem to be listening to these older individuals. But, the researcher was at fault as well by couching the report on his research in the very ageist terms he was decrying. This situation portrays how prevalent the problem really is when even the researcher doing the research on the problem is inadvertently part of the problem. Ageism can be found in the language used, not only by researchers but by medical professionals as well. "The possible effects of ageist language and ageism on the structure and function of intimate and non-intimate relationships have received significant attention from social scientists" Nussbaum's study states. Pg 6 The study continues, "Recent research grounded in communication accommodation.focusing specifically on health care settings, reviews theoretical positions and empirical findings that link ageist language and ageism to these positive and negative social consequences" Nussbaum (2005). Nussbaum's study, and other research, shows that ageist views are held by many individuals in the health care industry including, but not limited to, psychologists. "Insufficiently informed psychologists may draw erroneous or incomplete conclusions from their research findings that result in public representations that enhance adverse stereotypes held with respect to the elderly. Such inappropriate interpretations of age-related data may become accepted as the scientific basis for policy positions that lead to discrimination against and disadvantages for our older citizens" Schale (1988). By being alert to such possibilities, society can do much to counter-balance these ageist views. Nussbaum believes that the elderly themselves can do much to educate those they come in contact with. A point Nussbaum makes in his study is that the people experiencing the effects of ageist views need to be more proactive in their response to such prejudice. They need to be what he calls the "active aged". He also says that health care professionals can be educated about the effects of their ageist views. Other studies have shown that educating people does have a profound effect and it would therefore make sense to establish such an educational program. Pg 7 One thing that this paper presents is that the majority of people living on earth will one day feels the effects of ageism, whether those effects are positive or negative will be the question. "Ageism differs from various other forms of oppression. Ageism is the one source of disadvantage which all will face in the form of ambiguity regarding one's life span though it depends on a number of factors" Calasanti (2005). Most of us will experience growing old, and with that experience will more than likely experience ageism as well. One of the ways to overcome this problem is by enlisting the aid of the media. Currently, the media does not do a lot to alleviate the problem, rather the media is a large part of the problem. "Strategies for combating ageism and creating a healthier society must address all segments of society, and include educational and media campaigns, an expansion of current research foci, and greater sensitivity from care providers" Dry (2003). Dry's study also showed that by "providing more opportunities for intergenerational linkages" that the problem of ageism could be addressed on a global basis rather than on just a country-by-country, or a continent-by-continent basis. Dry went on to state that a "design of productive roles for older adults, a retrofit of the built environment, and intensified and collaborative action from both the public and private sectors" Dry (2003) would be the factors in changing the world in regards to blatant and overt ageism as well as its effects. Pg 8 Not all studies agree that there is an ageist problem in the health care industry, or that if there is a problem it is not a major one. Robert Kane completed a study that showed "ageism exists in healthcare and long-term care, but all differences cannot be treated as ageist inequities" Kane (2005). His study shows that the disparities can be divided into two parts, the first being access to healthcare services in a general way, and the other is considered as the internal access which was shown to be closely linked to age related disparities in quality of care. The study concerning healthcare services pertained to ageism in regard to things such as; insurance coverage and access to particular treatment, specialists, surgeries and diagnostic tests once the older person is under care. The second division focused on technical aspects of care or the manner of care, including the extent to which the physician spends time on a differential diagnosis or the extent which the physician interacts directly with the older person rather than through a younger family member. The study showed that there was a disparity in both divisions but that it was no more of a division than found throughout society in general. If this is true, then perhaps society in general needs to be educated in the effects of ageism as well as those that are working directly in the health care profession. In Great Britian a government program was formed called the National Service Framework (NSF) that has made progress on the ageism problem. A recent article showed "the National Service Framework (NSF) for older people in Great Britian has changed the culture of the National Health Service (NHS)" Nursing (2004). Pg 9 Ian Phillip is the national director of older people's services told the British Medical Journal recently "the NSF has had a profound effect on NHS culture, says Phillip, especially in relation to age discrimination. More than 200,000 elderly people have benefited from these services, which has helped to reduce demand on acute hospital care and reduced delayed discharge of elderly people" Nursing (2004). Reducing the demand on acute hospital care can mean more care is available overall. With more hospital care available, the cost of such care should not be spiraling ever higher, but should maintain a slower rate of growth which would be beneficial for all society. The delayed discharge of elderly people scenario can be taken care of far easier than reducing the demand on acute hospital care. All that it would take to ensure that the problem be taken care of is a program that sets comprehensive guidelines that assure the elderly are listened to. Again it pertains to education, in this case educating the elderly to be more vociferous in their demands to be discharged, as well as educating the health care professionals of the need to listen to what those demands are. The question is who is going to supply that education, and at what cost Many government entities are formed and funded with a noble purpose. Having a noble purpose does not necessarily mean that the noble purpose will be fulfilled. Other ways, besides forming another government entity, is by getting society involved. To get society involved means a change in thinking. Using the written word might help to achieve that change. Pg 10 The individuals who can use the written word in the most beneficial way are reporters, authors, poets and journalists. "Authors can encourage and support the ageist tendencies in western culture, or alternatively can celebrate creativity and renewal in later life and, in doing so, make a potentially age-liberating contribution to the diminishment of prejudice against older people" Hepworth (2005). Besides authors, anyone who will speak out in defense of these older people, and against ageism should have some effect. Papers written by college students, researchers publishing their findings and even news articles that no longer use discriminatory terms regarding the elderly should be part of the plan to overcome this problem. Implementing the changes will take a lot of work, and ultimately many will ask if this is truly the problem it is purported to be along with the question of is the problem such that we have to even make any changes. Educating the public to this problem will be part of that solution and should help to answer those questions. References Calasanti, T. (2005), Ageism, Gravity and Gender: Experience of Ageing Bodies, Generations, Fall 2005, Vol. 29, Issue 3, p. 8 Dry, M., Kinney Hoffman, M., Hawkins, M., Sanner, B., Mackenhaupt, R., (2003), Challenging aging Stereotypes, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Vol. 25, Issue 3, October, 2003, pp. 164-171. Hepworth, M., (2005), Culture and Decline: Age Awareness and Life Review, Ageing and Society, Vol. 25, Issue 5, September 2005, pp 785-793 Kane, R., (2005), Ageism in Healthcare and Long-Term Care, Generations, Fall 2005, Vol. 29, Issue 3, p. 49 Mandy, A., (2004), Ageism and attitudes to ageing: Implications for Health-care Students, International Journal of Therapy & Rehabilitation, Jun 2004, Vol. 11 Issue 6, p 248 Minichiello, V., Browne, J., Kendig, H. (2000), Perceptions and Consequences of Ageism: Views of Older People, Ageing and Society, Vol. 20, Issue 3, May 2000., pp 253-278 Nussbaum, J., (2005), Ageism and Ageist Language Across the Life Span: Intimate Relationships and Non-intimate Interactions, Journal of Social Issues,.Jun 2005, Vol. 61. Issue 2, p 287 Phillips, I. (2004), Nursing has Helped Change Ageist Attitudes in Health Care, Nursing Older People, Vol. 16, Issue 1, p.5 Postle, K., (2005), Ageist Assumptions, Community Care, 9/1/2005, Issue 1588, pg 22 Schale, W., (1988), Ageism in Psychological Research, American Psychologist, Vol. 43, Issue 3, March 1988, pp. 179-186 Read More