POSITIVE AGEING & AGEISM

CHCAC318A: Work effectively with older people

Activity

When I get old I will be……….

QUIZ• What do you know about ageing?

Ageism

• The term Ageism was developed by gerontologist Robert Butler in 1969. It is a terms that describes a form of bigotry similar to racism and sexism.

• Ageism is unfairly limiting a persons access to certain valued opportunities and rights based on an irrelevant criteria ie. Age.

Peterson 1989, p.12-13

Question

Can you think of a time in your life when you have been discriminated against because of your age? How did you feel?

Ageing: Myths and Stereotypes • Myth: is defined by the Collins dictionary as 1. Tale with

supernatural characters or events 2. Invented story 3. Imaginary person or object

• Stereotype: is defined in the Collins dictionary as 2. Something (monotonously) familiar, conventional, predictable…lacking originality or individuality.

What are some different stereotypes that you hear about different groups in the community?

Stereotypes

To understand the term Ageism we need to understand :

• what are the genuine behavioral characteristics of certain age groups actually are.

People often see the behaviour or characteristics of few but generalise these to all people who belong to a group.

Eg. All young people take drugs and are irresponsible!!! Where in fact only for a small majority this is true!

Why is it that Older People are particularly susceptible to stereotyping?

Western societies in particular value “youth and beauty” • The media perpetuates this

• Headlines often talk about “aged care crisis”• Poor examples of care in aged care.• Will put pictures on the covers of magazines that point out

flaws in peoples complexion.• People are scared of their own mortality • People scorn what they fear• For many people old age represents more loss than

gains.

Activity

• Identify common myths and stereotypes that you have heard about older people

• Outline the consequence this could have on the older person

• Outline how this myth/stereotype could effect the care given to a resident.

• What can we do in our day to day work to ensure we don’t perpetuate these myths and stereotypes

See activity sheet

Media

Video

http://www.encyclopedia.com/video/ChopgX5JldY-ageism-commercial.aspx

What positive ageing means to some people

• Positive ageing can mean different things to different people.

• For some, it means a chance to slow down, put your feet up, and withdraw from the bustle of working life.

• For others, it means the opportunity to maintain activity and involvement in community life, and more time to take up a variety of new interests.

Why active participation is important for positive ageing

Active participation in the community and recreation

• There are significant health benefits associated with active participation in community life.

• Older people who participate in social and recreational activities tend to be healthier and happier people.

• They have a greater sense of physical and mental wellbeing and generally have a more positive outlook on life.

Why active participation is important for positive ageingActive participation in the community

and recreation

• Similarly, those who exercise regularly have a greater level of physical fitness, are more easily able to perform daily tasks and generally have a positive image and self-esteem.

• Participation in recreation activities provides people with the opportunity to exert personal control and make choices, to experience feelings of independence and competence and to enhance their social networks.

Paid Work• This also is important for positive ageing

Working to change

• Learn each person’s name• Learn about the needs of each person• Learn about the likes and dislikes of each person• Recognise that people change• Accept that older people are all different

True or false?

• You can change how other people think about older people?

• How you do your job does not have any effect on other people?

• How you talk to older people does not make a difference to how other aged care workers do their jobs