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Attitudes Toward the Older Adults, 4-Older adults may minimize problems…
Attitudes Toward the Older Adults
Definitions
Attitudes: General feelings or a frame of reference that color how one views the world and people (can be positive or negative).
Gerontophobia: Fear of aging and refusal to accept the elderly into mainstream society.
Ageism: Systematic stereotyping, discrimination, and perpetuation of false information and negative images against people because they are old.
Factors Affecting Attitudes Toward Older Adults
Social/cultural background, age, sex, education level.
Formal training, years of clinical experience, type of care facility.
Exposure to positive aging role models, characteristics of residents (e.g., functional deficits), influence of mass media.
Negative Attitudes/Myths (Stereotypes)
Older adults are conservative, rigid, sick, disabled, ugly, socially isolated.
They lose sexual desire, mental abilities decline irreversibly.
They cannot work, and incontinence is normal.
Consequences of Ageism
1-Not valuing opinions, disrespect, ignoring.
2-Lowers quality of physical care and abusive behaviors.
5-Lowers self-esteem, destroys life meaning, increases dependency.
3-Health professionals may not aggressively diagnose/treat.
Nurse's Role to Combat Ageism
Identify and eliminate personal ageist attitudes.
Disseminate accurate information about aging.
Refer to agencies with current aging information.
Act as role model and advocate for older adults' rights.
Educate staff and families about aging realities vs. myths.
4-Older adults may minimize problems (believe symptoms are "normal aging").