Healthcare Professionals’ Views and Perspectives towards Aging

Abstract

Improving care for the older population is a growing clinical need in the United States. Ageism and other attitudes of healthcare professionals can negatively impact care for older adults. This study investigated healthcare professionals’ (N = 140) views towards aging and characterized a confluence of factors influencing ageism perspectives in healthcare workers using path analysis models. These models proposed relationships between aging anxiety, expectations regarding aging, age, ageism, and knowledge. Aging anxiety had a less critical role in the final model than hypothesized and influenced ageism in healthcare workers through its negative effect (β = −0.27) on expectations regarding aging. In contrast, aging knowledge (β = −0.23), age (β = −0.27), and expectations regarding aging (β = −0.48) directly and inversely influenced ageism. Increased knowledge about the aging process could lower ageism amongst healthcare professionals and improve care for older adults. The results put forth in this study help to characterize and understand healthcare workers’ complex views towards the aging population they often encounter. Moreover, these results highlight the need and utility of leveraging practitioner education for combating ageism in the clinical setting.

Towards a better uptake of home dialysis in Europe: understanding the present and looking to the future

“…Even today, with the dramatic increase in older people with multimorbidity, medical students and trainees have low interest in their needs or in geriatrics as a career [ 37 , 38 ]. The resulting lack of knowledge about ageing processes and needs of older people contribute towards ageism [ 39 ] and poor care for older adults. A recent systematic review has shown that the three underlying wishes regarding healthcare for people aged over 80 years are: feeling safe, feeling like a meaningful human being, and maintaining control and independence [ 40 ].…”

Assessing the Prevalence of Gendered Ageism Among Long-Term Care Employees

“…Ageism, like disability, is primarily socially constructed (Butler, 1975), as are female body ideals that embrace youth (Sanberg, 2013). Ageism is the driver of unfair practices in the allocation of opportunities and resources (Palsgaard et al, 2022), which extend to health care and LTC in a youth-oriented culture (Carney & Gray, 2015). Research has also found that having an aged appearance has social and financial consequences.…”

“…For example, older adults in institutional care could be assumed to be at fault for their increased need for assistance (Chrisler et al, 2016;Gibbons, 2016). Negative ageing attitudes not only make it easier for the perceiver to disregard the welfare and humanity of older adults but also impact older adults' physical and mental health and well-being (Bellingtier & Neupert, 2016;Chrisler et al, 2016;Palsgaard et al, 2022).…”

“…Considering that healthcare professionals are involved in intimate exchanges of care that include personal hygiene and body management, it is plausible that care relationship experiences can potentially shape one's perceptions of the other, impacting how care is given and received. As such, carer/care receiver dynamics can be fragile and vulnerable to negativity if the carer carries age bias (Drewniak et al, 2017;Palsgaard et al, 2022). For example, implicit age bias or gender bias could lead to various forms of elder abuse and impact the selfconcept of the resident.…”