The Link of COVID-19-Related Beliefs and Information Sources to Ageism: Myth or Reality?

This study aimed to understand ambivalent ageism among younger adults during the pandemic by examining whether younger adults' beliefs around COVID-19 and the sources from which they received COVID-19 information were associated with the intensity of their ageism. For this aim, survey data were collected from individuals ages 18 to 44 between July and September 2021. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that benevolent ageism was more intense than hostile ageism when two subscales of ambivalent ageism-benevolent and hostile-were compared. Hispanic or Latinx respondents showed less intense ambivalent ageism than non-Hispanic and non-Latinx respondents. The respondents' beliefs about safety measures and the prioritization of medical resources were significantly associated with the intensity of their ageism. Receiving COVID-19 information via traditional media and social media was also significantly associated with more intense ageism. These findings indicate that social work advocacy should continue to combat ageism in times of crisis.

'Home-Likeness' in English and Italian care homes' websites: From countering stereotypes to wading through the COVID-19 pandemic

Care homes often have to face negative stereotypes depicting them as dreaded places where older and/or disabled patients are brought to spend the last period of their life. These institutions may thus use their websites to communicate a more positive self-description;this often entails depicting the care homes as real homes for their residents. The present paper aims to understand more precisely the characteristics of this 'home-likeness', by carrying out a corpus-assisted discourse analysis focusing on Italian websites of care homes situated in Lombardy, compared with a corpus of English websites of care homes based in London. Moreover, it discusses the implications of this 'home-likeness' during the coronavirus pandemic, where the concept of sheltering at home was variably used by governments and health institutions alike (both in Italy and in the UK) to gather consensus around lockdown restrictions. It concludes that the metaphor of home used in long-term residential seniors care is diffuse, but is often culture-bound, as the comparison between Italian and English websites shows both some similarities and some differences. However, in both cases it appears sometimes paradoxical and insufficient to ensure adequate patient-centred care, especially during pandemics. © Peter Lang Group AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2023. All rights reserved.

Stereotypes of ageing in intergenerational talk and in media representations

Ageism is a manifestation of negative attitudes about and towards ageing. As stereotypes and ageism significantly influence our orientation to ageing, older age and older people, this chapter will examine some commonly held stereotypes of older adults and discuss how they might be constructed, reflected and reinforced in intergenerational communication and in some media representations. We will start by looking at the nature of common stereotypes of ageing and older adults, followed by how stereotypes might be activated in intergenerational talk and how this has been theoretically modelled, for example by Communication Accommodation Theory. We will then review some recent work on stereotypes of ageing in media contexts to illustrate some common trends. Two case studies from UK media, namely magazine advertising depictions of older adults and news reports during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic are presented. These serve to problematize overly 'positive' representations, on the one hand, and dichotomous vulnerable/exceptional representations, on the other hand. Lastly, we will link stereotyping with ageism in society. © Peter Lang Group AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2023. All rights reserved.

What's Keeping Residents "Out of the Mainstream": Challenges to Participation in the News Media for Older People Living in Residential Care.

The voices of older people living in residential care are often excluded from news articles about residential care, and this exclusion was especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to identify and understand the barriers which may be obstructing the news media participation of older residents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 journalists, 7 administrators, and 12 residents. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a thematic analysis, which resulted in the following themes: (1) residents are physically separated from their communities; (2) journalists do not consider residents to be official sources for news stories; (3) administrators feel they must manage their care home's reputation and control access to residents; and (4) journalists and administrators are not equipped to handle issues of consent and privacy. The role of ableism and ageism in the news reporting process is discussed.

Character Strengths and Resilience in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the pandemic, older adults were perceived as a vulnerable group without considering their various strengths. This study explored the associations between character strengths and resilience, and verified if some of these could predict resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 92 participants (women = 79.1%), ≥ 70 years of age (mean = 75.6 years), completed an online version of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths - Positively keyed (VIA-IS-P) to assess 24 character strengths (grouped under six virtues) and the Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale. Results showed that 20 of the 24 strengths correlated positively and significantly with resilience. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the virtues of courage and transcendence, as well as attitudes toward aging, uniquely predicted the level of resilience. Interventions should be developed to improve certain strengths (e.g., creativity, zest, hope, humor, and curiosity), while reducing ageism, in order to promote resilience.

Vulnerability, ageism, and health: is it helpful to label older adults as a vulnerable group in health care?

Despite the diversity of ageing, society and academics often describe and label older persons as a vulnerable group. As the term vulnerability is frequently interchangeably used with frailty, dependence, or loss of autonomy, a connection between older age and deficits is promoted. Concerning this, the question arises to what extent it may be helpful to refer to older persons as vulnerable specifically in the context of health care. After analyzing different notions of vulnerability, I argue that it is illegitimate to conclude that older age is related to increased vulnerability. Much more, identifying older adults as a vulnerable group is closely related to ageism and can be associated with paternalistic benevolence and a tendency to overprotection, especially within health care. Additionally, even though older adults are more often in situations of increased vulnerability due to their potentially higher need for health care, I argue further that older adults mainly become a vulnerable group due to ageism. In this way, it can be concluded that the vulnerability of older adults does not originate in certain attributes of the group, but arises from a characteristic of society and, in turn, health personnel, namely ageism. Labeling older adults as vulnerable therefore is only helpful, when it is used to raise awareness of the widespread ageism in society, in this context, especially in the setting of health care, and the negative consequences thereof for older adults.

Reducing ageism combining ageing education with clinical practice: A prospective cohort study in health sciences students.

AIM: To analyse the impact of an intervention combining ageing education with clinical practice in nursing homes on a nursing cohort's negative stereotypes and prejudices towards ageing. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study was conducted in September 2019-October 2020 in a population of health sciences students (n = 222). METHODS: Questionnaire of Negative Stereotypes towards Aging (CENVE) and Aging Semantic Differential (DSE) were used to examine negative stereotypes and prejudices towards ageing in the nursing cohort exposed to the ageing education and practice intervention compared to a medical cohort that received no intervention. Group-by-time interaction, controlled by sex and age, for the effect of the intervention on CENVE and DSE scores was determined by mixed-design ANOVA. RESULTS: The nursing cohort significantly reduced negative stereotypes and prejudices towards ageing when compared to the medical cohort in total (F = 26.926; p < 0.001), health factor (F = 16.812; p < 0.001), motivational and social factor (F = 11.266; p = 0.001), and character and personality factor (F = 19.202; p < 0.001) scores of CENVE scale and in DSE (F = 7.826; p = 0.006).

The two‐sided paradox of ageism during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The cases of Hungary, Tunisia and Uzbekistan

The consequences of ageing populations around the globe have necessitated policy changes that encourage people to stay in the labour force longer. Finding a job depends on two conditions: the willingness to work and employers' decisions. However, the COVID‐19 pandemic created special circumstances that negatively affected the perception of older workers. Older people were particularly vulnerable to the disease, which justified government action to protect them but at the same time provoked resentment among young people. We conducted an online questionnaire survey in July and August 2020 among the citizens of Hungary, Tunisia and Uzbekistan. Our research aimed to determine the general extent of ageism during the COVID pandemic. Respondents had to possess at least a college degree â€" i.e. be potentially suitable for the position of human resource manager. Despite the wealth of scientific literature and our own experience, the survey results revealed only low levels of ageism because of so‐called social desirability bias. Even so, the participants' responses reflected the characteristics of ageism in relation to their respective countries and living conditions. The small variations in the answers were also enough to provide useful information. Structural equation modelling was used to obtain results.Alternate :Las consecuencias del envejecimiento de la población en todo el mundo han hecho necesarios los cambios políticos que animan a las personas a permanecer más tiempo en la población activa. Encontrar un empleo depende de dos condiciones: la voluntad de trabajar y las decisiones de los empresarios. Sin embargo, la pandemia de COVID‐19 creó circunstancias especiales que afectaron negativamente a la percepción de las personas mayores trabajadoras. Las personas mayores son especialmente vulnerables a la enfermedad, lo que justifica la actuación del gobierno para protegerlas, pero al mismo tiempo provoca el resentimiento de los jóvenes. En julio y agosto de 2020 se realizó una encuesta en línea entre los ciudadanos de Hungría, Túnez y Uzbekistán. Esta investigación pretendía determinar el alcance general de la discriminación por edad durante la pandemia de COVID. Los encuestados debían poseer al menos un título universitario, es decir, ser potencialmente aptos para el puesto de director de recursos humanos. A pesar de la abundante literatura científica y de la propia experiencia de los autores, los resultados de la encuesta sólo revelaron bajos niveles de discriminación por razón de edad debido al llamado sesgo de deseabilidad social. A pesar de ello, las respuestas de los participantes reflejaron las características de la discriminación por razón de edad en relación con sus respectivos países y condiciones de vida. Las pequeñas variaciones en las respuestas también fueron suficientes para proporcionar información útil. Para obtener los resultados se utilizó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales.Alternate :抄録世界中の人口高齢化の影響により、人々がより長く労働ã‚'続けるã"とã‚'奨励する政策への転換が必要となった。仕事ã‚'å¾—ã‚‹ã"とは、働く意欲と雇用主の判断という二つの条件に依存する。しかし、COVID‐19のパンデミックにより、高齢労働者の認識に悪影響ã‚'及ぼす特別な状況が生み出された。高齢者は特にã"の病気に罹りやすく、政府が高齢者ã‚'保護するための行動ã‚'æ­£å½"化すると同時に、若者のæ€'ã‚Šã‚'引き起ã"した。2020年の7月と8月にハンガリー、チュニジア、ウズベキスタンの市民ã‚'対象にオンラインアンケートã‚'å®Ÿæ–½ã—ãŸã€‚æˆ‘ã€…ã®ç ”ç©¶ã¯ã€COVIDのパンデミックにおける一般的な年齢差別の程度ã‚'決定するã"とã‚'目的とした。回答者は最低で大学の学位ã‚'持っている、すなわち、人事部の管理者に潜在的に適しているã"とã‚'条件とした。文献が多いã"と著者らの経é¨"にもかかわらず、調査結果 ¯ã€ã„わゆる社会的望ましさのバイアスのために年齢差別の程度が低いã"とが明らかになった。それでも回答者の答えは、それぞれの国や生活ç'°å¢ƒã¨ã®é–¢é€£ã§ã€å¹´é½¢å·®åˆ¥ã®ç‰¹å¾´ã‚'åæ˜ ã™ã‚‹ã‚‚ã®ã§ã‚ã£ãŸã€‚å›žç­”ã®å¤šæ§˜æ€§ãŒå°‘ãªã„ã"ã¨ã‚‚ååˆ†ã«æœ‰ç”¨ãªæƒ…å ±ã§ã‚ã£ãŸã€‚åˆ†æžã«ã¯æ§‹é€ æ–¹ç¨‹å¼ãƒ¢ãƒ‡ãƒªãƒ³ã‚°ã‚'使用した。

Aging and Feeling Valued Versus Expendable During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: a Review and Commentary of Why Mattering Is Fundamental to the Health and Well-Being of Older Adults.

The current commentary and review examines the potentially protective role of feelings of mattering among elderly people during typical times and the current atypical times associated with the COVID-19 global pandemic. Mattering is the feeling of being important to others in ways that give people the sense that they are valued and other people care about them. We contrast this feeling with messages of not mattering and being expendable and disposable due to ageism, gaps in the provision of care, and apparently economically focused positions taken during the pandemic that disrespect the value, worth, and merits of older persons. We provide a comprehensive review of past research on individual differences in mattering among older adults and illustrate the unique role of mattering in potentially protecting older adults from mental health problems. Mattering is also discussed in terms of its links with loneliness and physical health. This article concludes with a discussion of initiatives and interventions that can be modified and enhanced to instill a sense of mattering among older adults. Key directions for future research are also highlighted along with ways to expand the mattering concept to more fully understand and appreciate the relevance of mattering among older adults.

Ageism and moral distress in nurses caring for older patients

This study explored the influence of healthcare ageism on nurses' moral distress. Episodic interviews were conducted on 25 Romanian nurses in 2020. Thematic analysis revealed that all moral distress sources reported reflected macro-, meso- and micro-level ageism, benevolent and hostile, self- or other-directed, including stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination of older patients. The COVID-19 pandemic-related ageist measures increased healthcare ageism and transformed nurses' representations of older patients accordingly. Nurses felt moral conflict both when passively witnessing ageist acts and when perpetrating them to adhere to group norms, highlighting the need to combat ageism for both patients' and nurses' well-being.

Ageism, Racism, Sexism, and Work With Older Healthcare Clients: Why an Intersectional Approach Is Needed in Practice, Policy, Education, and Research.

Women are subject to health disparities across the life course, owing to multiple factors, including sexism, ageism, and other forms of structural discrimination and mistreatment which have been linked with greater risks for sexual violence and related trauma as well as resulting problems with physical and mental health as well as overall wellbeing. Thus, a more intersectional approach to healthcare and social service delivery for older women is expressly needed, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, to address UN Global goals of advancing health and wellness, gender equality, less disparities altogether, and with this, greater justice. As such, in this article, timely needs for practice, policy, research, and education will be explored, to address intersectional prejudice and discrimination, chiefly among older women who are members of nondominant populations, to improve healthcare and social services and social justice, principally in later life.

Changes in perceived ageism during the COVID-19 pandemic: impact on quality of life and mental well-being among Dutch adults aged 55 and older.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic brought ageism to the forefront of public discourse. Negative ageism incurs more negative self-perceptions of aging, which affects physical and mental functioning. Whether negative ageism as perceived and experienced by older adults has worsened as the pandemic lingered, and how such changes impact quality of life (QoL) and mental well-being (MWB), remain urgent questions.Method: In a sample of adults aged 55 or older (n = 500), we aimed to address this by administering the Perceived Ageism Questionnaire twice during the pandemic (T1: between October 2020 and May 2021; T2: on average 45 wk after T1).Results: Higher levels of perceived negative ageism were associated with lower QoL and MWB, at least partially through its unfavorable effects on self-perceptions of aging, even after controlling for ageism experiences in the preceding year (at T2, corrected for T1). Furthermore, we found that perceived negative ageism increased from T1 to T2, which had negative implications for QoL/MWB. Opposite effects were found for perceived positive ageism, although less consistently.Conclusion: These patterns reveal that ageism as perceived and experienced by adults of 55 or older became stronger and more negative throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which had detrimental implications for individuals' QoL and MWB. These disconcerting findings emphasize the importance of combatting negative ageism in our society.

An experimental investigation of a simulated online intergenerational friendship.

Reducing ageism is a significant social issue. The current study involved a novel experimental examination of whether a one-time simulated online intergenerational friendship would reduce ageism. Undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to complete an interpersonal closeness exercise (the "fast friends" procedure, Aron et al., 1997; Lytle & Levy, 2015) with a confederate who used a script to answer the fast friends questions, during which they either did not reveal their age (control condition) or revealed being an older adult (age 65; experimental condition). Results indicate that experimental (vs. control) participants reported less ageism and more positive behavior (friendlier responses). These findings suggest that positive online intergenerational contact may help combat ageism. As intergenerational contact was limited before the COVID-19 pandemic and even more so during the pandemic, facilitating online intergenerational contact may be a particularly worthwhile ageism reduction strategy. Further implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

The COVID-19 and Ageism in Social Media

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was recognized as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. However, the median age of laboratory-confirmed cases is about 45 years and age is not a sole potential risk for catching COVID-19;unfortunately, some social media pretend that elderly people are more likely to be infected by COVID-19. Providing such information about the COVID-19 can increase the stress and anxiety among the elderly that may weaken their immune system. It is suggested that social media provide appropriate information to reduce public stress.Copyright © 2020 Bentham Science Publishers.

International human rights law and the intangible face of ageism

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show the potential of international human rights law to raise awareness of the international community about ageism and its three aspects – old age discrimination, stereotyping and prejudices against older persons. The author evaluates the ability of international human rights law to encourage states to take action against these phenomena and looks for new solutions. The author also intends to examine if there are international law instruments compelling states to reject stereotypes and prejudices on older persons if there is no treaty devoted to them.Design/methodology/approachThe author applies methods relevant to legal science. The core human rights treaties, soft law documents and activities of human rights bodies are selected, analysed and interpreted.FindingsThe core human rights treaties require going beyond their literal interpretation to observe older persons' rights. States should interpret them in good faith, relying on the ageing mainstreaming approach. Instruction to states on how to do so lies in the soft law and output of the international human rights bodies. However, there is also room for improvement. Therefore, the author proposes adopting a targeted resolution on counteracting ageism and its components, updating positions by international treaty bodies, and involving various human rights procedures and specialised agencies in the fight against intangible dimensions of ageism.Originality/valueIt is the first study analysing awareness about stereotyping and prejudices against older persons from international human rights law. The author indicates untapped possibilities of the fight against ageism and its intangible dimensions under international law.

Are you OK, Boomer? Intensification of ageism and intergenerational tensions on social media amid COVID-19

Social media is a useful tool for connecting with family, friends and others while physically distancing and self-isolating due to COVID-19. Simultaneously, it is being used for purposes of expressing antagonistic stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against older adults. This commentary draws on social media trending topics (e.g., "OK, Boomer," "Boomer Remover") to demonstrate how generalizations regarding chronological age and COVID-19 age-related biomedical risks have: (a) exacerbated ageism on social media, and (b) further exposed ongoing tensions between so-called "Millennial" and "Baby Boomer" generations in ways that are targeted against the older generation and serve in favor of younger ones. The implications of this ageist discourse in and on society are discussed. Anti-ageism efforts by social media users and organizations are highlighted. In this state of emergency, we must bring awareness to and resist ageism that depersonalizes and dehumanizes older adults and undervalues later life during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

AGEISM, RADIO AND PANDEMIC CRISIS: Spanish generalist radio during the lockdown

One of the main focuses of journalistic interest during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has been the high number of deaths in the population sector over 65 years of age. The objective is to analyze the informative treatment of the subject during the first wave of the pandemic by the main Spanish radio stations. Under the framework of Age Studies, the mode of representation and the presence of old age in the programming of the four main general radio stations during four fundamental days of confinement are analyzed. The four selected generalist radio stations have got the highest audience according to the latest General Media Study, with a total of 74 editions, corresponding to 27 programs and 229 hours of radio, of the most representative spaces from SER, COPE, Onda Cero and Radio Nacional España. The main conclusion is the existence of positive ageism, both in representation and in the presence of the subject. © 2022, EDUFBA - Editora Universttaria. All rights reserved.

The worldwide ageism crisis

Ageism is a worldwide crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated ageism toward older adults with hate speech, intergenerational resentment, and human rights violations. This article provides an overview of the interdisciplinary and international theoretical and applied research literature in three subareas: intergenerational attitudes and relations, psychological and physical effects of ageism on older adults, and reducing ageism. Cross-cutting themes are the need to (1) consider positive (including seemingly "positive") and negative views, treatment, and experiences of older adults, (2) expand the study of diverse populations including by age and country as well as intersectionality of ageism and other isms (e.g., ableism, classism, heterosexism, racism, sexism), (3) expand the study of the wide-ranging manifestations of ageism at multiple levels of analysis including greater attention to human rights and new indicators of ageism, and (4) expand the circle of interdisciplinary and international collaborations within and across communities worldwide with all stakeholders and policymakers. Ageism and other isms are intertwined with and multiplied by population aging and other societal issues such as pandemics and climate crises. This article aims to further sound the alarm for the urgent need for age-friendly societies and addressing ageism through basic research, preventive measures, and intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Criminal law, ageism and dependency. Are the events that occurred in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic punishable?

The present work aims to provide the necessary theoretical support to determine whether it is possible to subsume some of the events that occurred in nursing homes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic under the criminal types of reckless homicide and refusal to provide health care. This will be done through an analysis of the data that today can be considered less controversial and taking into account the few pronouncements made in this regard by the court decisions that have been issued so far on said events. Naturally, the objective is not to advocate for the initiation of prospective proceedings but, rather, to elucidate whether there is sufficient evidence to defend the posture that some of those events may have been criminal in nature. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.