Tommie Mae Crutchfield

Ageism, an idea created by Robert Butler, can be described as degrading behavior or emotions toward older people based on one’s own fears or preconceived ideas (Butler, 1969). This kind of behavior can consist of anything from refusing jobs to someone due to their age and perceived capabilities from not offering ideal care to older people because one believes it is wasteful of resources. The presence of ageism within society leads to a population bound by certain stereotypes that can prohibit the advancement of people considered to be older adults.

In America, people are changing their views on aging and the elderly. Some of the reasons that the attitudes are changing could be due to more elderly people are remaining in the work place longer, as opposed to retiring early. Riffkin (2014). And there is the fact that we baby boomers are living longer. Even though the U.S. only ranks 53rd with a life expectancy of 79. That’s an increase of one year since 2010. (“The World: Life Expectancy” 2016)

The humanity of aging is a concept sometimes hard to grasp. Understanding why we are

According to the Administration on Aging, people age 65 and older currently represent 12.9% of the population of the United States as of 2009, with that number expected to double in the next 15 years (Administration on Aging, 2014). Along with the continued rise in the population of older adults comes an increased need for services specifically addressing the needs of this population. Despite the increasing needs for services for older adults, seniors are among the most overlooked and underserved populations in the United States.

Melillo, K. D., Abdallah, L. M., Blanks, C., Campbell, I., & Herndon, L. (2012). Faculty

Demographers predict that by 2061, 25% of Canada’s population will be over the age of 65 (BOOK 46). This will lead to changes in the social infrastructure of Canada. The health care system will have to adjust to support all the needs of the older people. The main type of ageism that is seen is inter-generational ageism, which is ageism between younger and older populations. The younger population of Canada is ageist towards older adults because they think they’re old and going to die anyways, so they do not want to waste medical resources on them. In the article, Dr. Beauchamp said that many of his patients were turned down from hospitals due to their age. However, he does not accept them right away; he examines the individual and examines their MRI and ultrasound images to see if there is anything he can do to help. Also, older adults usually contract chronic conditions which take more time and resources to cure, whereas health care professionals are focused on treating acute illnesses. The reason for this happening, could be that older adults are not included in drug researches, which leads to physicians not knowing how to treat diseases in the geriatrics field and not being able to provide certain treatments that may improve their patient’s life. Many times, health care professionals classify their patients’ symptoms as part of the aging process and do not assess the individual to understand what is causing

Nathan Stall, a geriatrician from Western University in London, Ontario, sad that the process should begin with the eradication of ageism with no tolerance for those who treat elders with discrimination as they would be reprimanded for prejudicing based on gender, race, religion or sexuality. The doctor laments how elders are treated as a second rate patients (Nathan Stall, 2012). As said by Samir Sinha, head of geriatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada needs more geriatricians

According to the article Attitudes towards caring for older people in Scotland,Sweden and the United States by Angela Kydd etal which states that the findings based on survey conducted in these three countries suggest that practice environments, coupled with the attitudes of other professionals towards those who work with older people, have an influence on attitudes. In general, working conditions in care of older people are not conducive to recruiting and retaining staff. On the whole, there is a lack of career advancement in care of the older person. Other healthcare professionals do not seem to appreciate that care of the older person is a highly skilled specialty. Poor environments with substandard care have a negative effect on patients and staff. It also found that found that students had positive attitudes about working in older people’s services until they undertook a placement in such facilities. Limited Medicare and private insurance for long-term care in the US, inadequate salaries and staff and a lack of respect towards those caring for older people, particularly but not only in long-term care facilities, significantly limit the ability to provide high quality care (Touhy and Jett 2012) and negatively affect job

Because of advancements in health, individuals are living longer. As a result, we find a growing population of people in late adulthood that is greater than decades before. These individual have varying degrees of health, but the majority of which are still capable of leading active lives. Berger (2011) describes there are 3 categories of old: young-old, old-old, and oldest-old. In the United States, young-old account for 70 percent of the late adult population and are “healthy, active, financially secure, and independent” (Berger, 2011, p.499). The groupings are not based upon an age, but rather on their health, vigor and financial security. Of the three groups, only the oldest-old are dependent on others for care. Even though there are varying

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines aging in place as “the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level” (CDC, 2013). The population of older adults in the United States is expected to double by the year 2030, from 35 million to 70 million (Behr, Sciegaj, Walters, Bertoty, & Dungan, 2011). There exist a number of challenges facing this ever growing demographic of Americans, where they age is just one of them.

Old age was at one time was considered assets because of the experience and wisdom that usually accompanied age. The oppression of ageism intersects with, and actually intensifies, other oppressions such as classism, racism, and homophobia. We must begin to remove the negative stigma that comes with the “isms.” Our elders should continue to feel valuable assets to society. They want much of the same things as the younger generation such as love and affection, attention, the feeling of belonging, and a desire to be active and vibrant. As a younger person myself, we can be allies for the elderly. As an elderly person, they are their best allies. Working hand-in-hand, we can make a difference.

is rising more by each generation. This advancement is greatly affecting the field of gerontology (Hooyman and Kiyak, 2011). A vastly growing practice area that is much needed because by the middle of the 21st century, more than 40% of Americans age 65 and older can expect to live to at least 90 (Gonyeathe, 2013). This is a major advancement since 1900, when the average life expectancy in the U.S. was around 47 years old, and from 47 to today’s 78.1 years (Hooyman and Kiyak, 2011). When Hooyman and Kiyak (2011) examined the life expectancies from 1990 and 2005, they noticed a decline in the older population mostly because of low birthrates experienced during the 1920s and 1930s; however, they expect a rise in this age population because most of the baby boomers will be turning 60 in the years following. During U.S. events like the 1930s Great Depression, and the late 1940s and early 1960s baby boomers years, these historical events has shifted the demographics of the older population.The advancement of old age is a huge milestone today, and as this extremely diverse population continues to grow associated risk factors are assumed to follow such as economic hardship, and disabling illnesses or health conditions for the older

The United States is highlighted by the rapid, increasing of the older population. According to the video Living Old, those who are aged 85 and older are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population (Chapter 1). In the 30 years after the video was made it was predicted that the number of people aged 65 and older will double, making up twenty percent of the U.S. population (Living Old Chapter 1). According to the video, the population is changing in this way because medical advances have made doctors improved at treating illnesses that in the past have killed younger people (Living Old Chapter 1). This is causing older adults to require more ongoing

It is common to see many people apply and/or working in numerous fields throughout the health care field over the age of 40. According to Tartaglia, McMahon, West, Belongia, & Beach (2010), one in four people between the ages of 50-69 have experienced some form of discrimination based on their age (para. 5). It is assumable that the older employees abilities decline as they age and therefore, employers are less likely to accommodate or assign complicated tasks to them. HR needs to remind employers that these employees are just as valuable and to accommodate or restructure job descriptions to fit the employees no matter what the

To begin with, there are health issues eating up the life quality of elder people. Nowadays, the health system is still exerting more efforts on quantity instead of quality of life for elder people. Life quality could always be sacrificed for the sake of longevity. Such an idea has put millions of elder people living long lives living in long-term pain and suffering. Firstly, our health care professionals haven’t become aging ready. Little resources are invested into the study of Geriatrics: Less than 20% of the medical schools in the United States have full departments of Geriatrics. Dr. Ken Dychtwald once said: “Our 21st century health breakthroughs have given us old people, and now we can’t figure out how to keep them healthy.” Secondly, too little freedom is placed in the hands of elder people in deciding their own lives. They ought to be granted full authority in things such as whether to accept aggressive medical treatments conditioning on their consciousness.