ABSTRACT
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has consistently advocated for a healthcare system that meets the needs of older adults, including addressing impacts of ageism in healthcare. The intersection of structural racism and ageism compounds the disadvantage experienced by historically marginalized communities. Structural racism and ageism have long been ingrained in all aspects of US society, including healthcare. This intersection exacerbates disparities in social determinants of health, including poor access to healthcare and poor outcomes. These deeply rooted societal injustices have been brought into the forefront of the collective public consciousness at different points throughout history. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare and exacerbated existing inequities inflicted on historically marginalized communities. Ageist rhetoric and policies during the COVID-19 pandemic further marginalized older adults. Although the detrimental impact of structural racism on health has been well documented in the literature, generative research on the intersection of structural racism and ageism is limited. The AGS is working to identify and dismantle the healthcare structures that create and perpetuate these combined injustices and, in so doing, create a more just US healthcare system. This paper is intended to provide an overview of important frameworks and to guide future efforts to both identify and eliminate bias within healthcare delivery systems and health professions training with a particular focus on the intersection of structural racism and ageism.
ABSTRACT
Disproportionate impact of COVID-19 is another in a long line of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities throughout the many realms of health care. The reasons for the disparities are manifold, with social determinants of health contributing heavily. Older adults have been identified as being at high risk of significant complications from COVID-19, and age coupled with other factors seems to put older adults belonging to underserved minorities at greatly heightened risk of those complications. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified yet again racial and ethnic differences in health care that still must be addressed. This will require a multi-pronged approach to move beyond identifying racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in health care to full-force design and implementation of interventions that address this important issue. The next generation of clinicians, researchers, leaders, and policymakers can help advance the cause of eliminating fundamentally unjust health disparities, and our nation's older adults should not be left behind.