You may not know it by name, but you’ve certainly seen it in action. Ageism, though perhaps innocuous at first glance, is incredibly harmful. Consider how it feels from the perspective of an older adult in the following examples:
- A provider addresses health questions about an older adult to the family rather than to the individual directly.
- A caregiver completes activities of daily living for an individual who is still quite capable of performing these tasks independently.
- A nurse refers to older adults as “honey,” “sweetie,” “young lady,” and other patronizing terms.
An astounding 82% of older Americans shared in a recent survey that they regularly experience ageism.
Let’s dig deeper into exactly what ageism is and why fighting ageism is so important for all of us – in the care industry and our society.
