CHALLENGING ATTITUDES TO AGEING AND AGEISM

Abstract

The developed world has an increasing number of people who are classed as the ‘old’, with the largest increase being those aged over eighty-five years. Population ageing is a worldwide phenomenon. The “oldest old” (people aged 85 or older) constitutes eight per cent of the world’s 65-and-over population. On a global level, the 85-and-over population is projected to more than triple between 2010 and 2050 (National Institutes of Health, 2011:8). In many countries, the oldest old are the fastest growing age group in the total population (United Nations, 2014; National Institutes of Health, 2011). These people are more likely to have multimorbidities and have less functional capacity to compensate physically for an acute episode of injury or ill health. Projections indicate that there will be considerable differences in the age composition of the EU-27 population during the period 2015 to 2050 (Eurostat, 2015). The most pronounced changes being the share of working-age and old-age groups in the population (Sobczak, 2014:18), meaning that there are a growing number of potentially dependent people coupled with a shrinking working-age population (Eurostat, 2015). It is imperative for all societies to address negative attitudes towards older people as there remains a high prevalence of ageism in societies globally. The detrimental effects of negative attitudes and ageism are substantial. In this symposium negative attitudes and ageism are discussed at discourse level; amongst older people; with caregivers; amongst professionals and with housing providers covering work from Ireland, Scotland, America, Malta and Spain.