agesim

Views on Ageism
Aging is considered to be a physiological process of change which starts from birth and continues until death. The World Health Organization accepts the age of 65 and over as the period of agedness in chronological terms (World Health Report 1998). In the present day, problems related to the aged and the aging periods have started to occupy the world countries’ agenda more and more (Yılmaz, & Zeyneloğlu, S. 2012.). For, along with the fall in birth rates, improvement in nutrition conditions, development in basic health services and the control of contagious diseases since the beginning of the 20th century the number of people who have reached old age has been gradually increasing (George, Branch, & Harris 2005.). As a consequence of this, in the 21st century countries are at risk of high population aging and the accompanying problems.
The idea of aging is feared by many because older adults often are ignored. It is believed that the reality of ageing and death often is denied because people secretly cherish a belief in their own immortality. Ageing threatens the ideology of rugged independence, and many people regard growing older as something that happens to other people and not to them. Yet ageism permeates all areas of society. How we view the older people of our society in America is unique. The thought of changing our current lives and aging frightens us. We fear getting old, from face-lifts and tummy tucks, to ageless makeup, we work tirelessly to set the clock back. Everything from our TV shows to our movies and music display a growing need for youthfulness, a fear or aging and death. This is so very different from many other cultures around the world, who respect their elders, viewing them as the basis of wisdom of the years gone by.
Ageism and age discrimination in the National Health Service is very likely to reflect ageism and age discrimination in society at large. There is evidence of direct and indirect age discrimination in the provision of some services, although in many cases the evidence is not clear‐cut. A different pattern of treatment for patients of different ages does not, in itself, necessarily imply discrimination on the basis of age. Variations in the treatment of patients of different ages may be confounded by the presence of more than one condition (co‐morbidity), frailty, treatment with more than one type of medication (polypharmacy) and the efficacy of a particular treatment at different ages.
Ageism is a type of discrimination that involves prejudice against people based upon their age. Similar to racism and sexism, ageism involves holding negative stereotypes about people of different ages. The term ageism was first used by gerontologist Robert N. Butler to describe the discrimination of older adults (Yılmaz, & Zeyneloğlu, S. 2012.). Today, the tern is often applied to any type of age-based discrimination, whether it involves prejudice against children, teenagers, adults or senior-citizens.
Ageism is a multidimensional term covering actions like different attitudes, prejudices and behavior towards an individual due to one’s age only. Aging is viewed as a process of deterioration in all fields of life such as: productivity, efficiency, individualism, and freedom by members of society. The age of a patient can and should be used to inform the clinician of the most appropriate treatment so that each person can be treated in the most beneficial way. Being more or less generous to a patient simply on the basis of their age is as unacceptable as is the allocation of treatment simply on the basis of their social role.