Communication of healthcare professionals: Is there ageism?

Abstract

Elderspeak is often used when talking to older individuals and is characterised by a slower and/or louder speech, a patronising tone, etc. A part of the reason of such communication can be found in the actual context of negative view of ageing. However, the link between view of ageing and elderspeak has never been objectively studied in oncology. Therefore, 40 healthcare professionals (physicians and medical students) record a podcast where they have to explain an endocrine therapy to two fictional patients (40- vs. 70-year old). Results show that when participants explained the treatment to the older patient, they used shorter utterances and made more repetitions. They also evoked fewer side effects such as sexual issues. Moreover, reduction in length of utterances and of word-per-minute rate was observed for older patient when participants have a positive view of ageing but for both patients when they have a negative view of ageing. In conclusion, physicians and medical students used elderspeak when they explained a treatment to older patients. Participants with a more negative view of ageing also unconsciously talked slower and made shorter utterances to a 40 -year-old patient.

Factors influencing self-management of depression in older adults: a qualitative study

“…Overall, however, they were more affected by ageism. Consistent with the literature, participants reported that it was in the interaction between health professionals and older patients that ageism most frequently occurred (Blancato & Ponder, 2015;São José, Amado, Ilinca, Buttigieg, & Taghizadeh Larsson, 2017;Schroyen et al, 2018). Health professionals are known to patronise older patients, allow less time for the clinical interview and listen less to their views (Blancato & Ponder, 2015;Chrisler, Barney, & Palatino, 2016;Makris et al, 2015;Schroyen et al, 2018;Wilson et al, 2017).…”

“…Health professionals are known to patronise older patients, allow less time for the clinical interview and listen less to their views (Blancato & Ponder, 2015;Chrisler, Barney, & Palatino, 2016;Makris et al, 2015;Schroyen et al, 2018;Wilson et al, 2017). By attributing symptoms of depression to older age, there is also a danger of over-or under-treatment of mental and physical conditions in older adults (Ouchida & Lachs, 2015;Schroyen et al, 2018). These problems, however, presuppose that the individual can access the health care system in the first place.…”

Dual institution validation of an ageism scale for dental students

“…Ageism is prevalent among health care providers and institutions, and negatively affects health care for older individuals in several ways, including how treatments are chosen, presented, explained, and provided . In dentistry, as older adults are maintaining their natural dentition for a lifetime, there is a growing need for geriatric trained dentists worldwide .…”

Measuring Sexual Victimization and Perpetration in Today’s Society: Modifications to the Sexual Experiences Survey

“…Additionally, not explaining the sexual side-effects of a treatment (item 6) can be considered as a form of denying one's sexual needs. Scholars showed that sexual side effects are often minimized among older patients compared to younger patients (Schroyen et al, 2018) and older patients often feel too embarrassed to discuss loss of sexual function because they believed they would be considered as 'too old' to worry about this (O'Brien et al, 2011). While research has already examined attitudes of caregivers regarding sexual health among older adults (e.g., Gott et al, 2004;Saunamäki & Engström, 2014), the prevalence of sexual neglect remains largely under-researched (Nobels et al, 2020).…”