Examples Of Ageism In Aged Care

1. “Like sexism and racism, changing social norms is possible. It is time to stop defining people by their age. It will result in more prosperous, equitable and healthier societies.” – John Beard, WHO Director of Ageing and Life Course. It is evident that present society still holds many negative attitudes towards the elderly. Some of these attitudes include – being incompetent. For example, present society and predominately those aged 18-24 think that the elderly have trouble learning new tasks and have difficulty completing complex tasks. Another negative attitude towards older persons involve talking louder than normal as if though the elderly person cannot hear as well as the younger person. Ageism takes a big toll in today’s society there is a perception that older people are all the same and that they are boring. They are far from being boring, many older people find the years between the mid 50s to mid 70s are a time of liberation where a sense of personal freedom allows them to speak their minds and make plans for new and different experiences.
Depression has many triggers some could be homelessness, loss of financials, loss of a loved one, instability, a specific trauma or event and so on. Depression in the elderly requires thorough assessment to confirm the diagnosis. Good practice in the aged care setting should include asking questions about people’s mood eg “do you feel sad or depressed? If so, how often?” There are several easy to use tools to assess residents with suspected depression in the aged care facility such as PAMS GOT JIMI. These tools do not diagnose depression and do not replace a doctors or a Psychologists clinical assessment. However, they are useful for screening purposes and may therefore assist with identifying older people who require a more detailed