Ageism in Healthcare
Age Related Healthcare Discrimination (Ageism) in Healthcare
Student Name
Professor Name
DHA-865
July 14, 2013
Age Related Healthcare Discrimination (Ageism) in Healthcare While the “Greatest Generation” is a title often given to those Americans who lived and died during the era of the Great Depression and World War II, their offspring, the “Baby Boom” generation, significantly shaped and improved the American landscape as well if for no greater reason than the sheer number of people who make up this population (Steinhorn, 2006). Today, based predominantly on that very same reason, the baby boomer population is now making a very different, yet equally as profound impact on American society. More specifically, this impact is being made on the healthcare system of the US, and the discriminatory practice of “ageism” that older patients currently face. The purpose of this paper is to explore, analyze, and evaluate both the practice of age discrimination in healthcare and the federal policy issues and efforts that are involved with it. The work begins by providing background information on the current demographics of the aging American population and forecasts for the impact this will likely have on the healthcare industry in the near future. It then transitions into a discussion on what ageism is, where its historical roots come from, and where it fits into the federal Fair Labor Act. A review of the literature is then presented, documenting the discrimination that elderly people are subjected to with regards to healthcare. The paper then explores the medical profession itself within this context, with a focus on examining the lack of geriatric training medical professionals receive and the limited number of existing programs designed to train these professionals in geriatrics. Attention is then turned to this issue from a public policy perspective, first by analyzing the current elderly healthcare discrimination policy in
Student Name
Professor Name
DHA-865
July 14, 2013
Age Related Healthcare Discrimination (Ageism) in Healthcare While the “Greatest Generation” is a title often given to those Americans who lived and died during the era of the Great Depression and World War II, their offspring, the “Baby Boom” generation, significantly shaped and improved the American landscape as well if for no greater reason than the sheer number of people who make up this population (Steinhorn, 2006). Today, based predominantly on that very same reason, the baby boomer population is now making a very different, yet equally as profound impact on American society. More specifically, this impact is being made on the healthcare system of the US, and the discriminatory practice of “ageism” that older patients currently face. The purpose of this paper is to explore, analyze, and evaluate both the practice of age discrimination in healthcare and the federal policy issues and efforts that are involved with it. The work begins by providing background information on the current demographics of the aging American population and forecasts for the impact this will likely have on the healthcare industry in the near future. It then transitions into a discussion on what ageism is, where its historical roots come from, and where it fits into the federal Fair Labor Act. A review of the literature is then presented, documenting the discrimination that elderly people are subjected to with regards to healthcare. The paper then explores the medical profession itself within this context, with a focus on examining the lack of geriatric training medical professionals receive and the limited number of existing programs designed to train these professionals in geriatrics. Attention is then turned to this issue from a public policy perspective, first by analyzing the current elderly healthcare discrimination policy in
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