How can social care providers help to tackle ageism?
Age of ageism
Recent research conducted by McCarthy Stone, based on a poll of 5,000 adults and interviews with later life experts and older people, revealed that 43% of people under 65 fear they’ll be regarded as frail and somehow less important in older age, yet more than half (51%) of over 65s say they actually feel more confident and resilient in later life. This indicates a significant misrepresentation amongst the public of what later life will really be like. Such attitudes towards ageing will only perpetuate existing negative stereotypes associated with older people and the wider adult social care sector. While ageism is typically discussed in relation to the experiences of older people, younger people report more perceived age discrimination than other age groups, and the main contributing factors towards ageism against younger people include health status and care dependence, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global report on ageism.
A provider’s role
In a Department of Health and Social Care blog post, Dr Mervyn Eastman argues that social care providers may fall into the trap of using language and adopting behaviours that cater to the successful operation of the organization, at the expense of positive individual outcomes for older people receiving care. This could include conducting assessments and/or managing resources based on stereotyped assumptions of what it means to be an older adult. Guidance published by the Social Care Institute for Excellence argues that strong leadership at all levels of adult social care provision is required to overcome ageism. For example, providers should engage people using services and their families to shape future support. Those in leadership roles should also set the standard for the rest of the organisation. This could be achieved through a number of channels, including training, expectations and supervision to recognise and tackle ageism and creating a culture that supports equality and challenges discrimination, the guidance summarises.
Building relationships
Neil Gandecha, Estate Manager at Foxholes Care Home, understands that providers who facilitate intergenerational interactions between younger and older people can create mutually beneficial relationships that address age segregation. At Foxholes, they organise activities such as pen pal projects, creating the opportunity for connections to be made and negative stereotypes to be quashed.
A recent report launched by the Agile Ageing Alliance, with support from Clarion Housing Group, is urging the housing sector to create more inventive and inclusive spaces or Smart Multigenerational Neighbourhoods (SMNs) for age-inclusive relationships to blossom. The report states that SMN’s should include public spaces, with plenty of rest stops, to facilitate engagement across all generations and that this familiarity will also serve to combat ageism.
On a smaller scale, providers such as Hertfordshire-based Westgate Healthcare have successfully connected with local schools to encourage intergenerational relationships and break down ageist assumptions.
Much of the general public assumes that older age is inevitably linked to vulnerability, dependency and decline. This is despite the fact that many older people continue to be active and participate in and contribute to workplaces, communities and society in many different ways.
So where does this portrayal come from? Research from the Centre for Ageing Better found that despite different language used by different sectors – covering national Government, news, social media, charities and more – many of their narratives draw on similar stereotypes.
When we looked at language used by health and social care organisations, we found much of the language focuses on death and physical decline. Ageing is talked about as a process of increasingly bad health, and older people are commonly portrayed as frail, vulnerable and dependent.
This means that health and social care organisations, along with other sectors, are contributing to a narrative from which the general public naturally adopts language and frames when talking about ageing.
You may ask why this kind of language matters. It matters because language influences attitudes and behaviours. Stereotypes and ageist language can result in a lack of respect for older people and can lower the quality of care they receive. It can also result in individuals internalising these stereotypes and subsequently behaving in a manner in which they have been told a stereotypical older person behaves.
The Centre for Ageing Better has produced a guide to help give people the confidence to challenge ageism and champion positive and realistic representations of ageing and later life. The guide is designed as a practical tool to support organisations in communicating about ageing and older age. We have also just released a new collection of photos for our age-positive image library highlighting older carers and we hope that social care providers will join us in promoting this tool.
If we all make these small changes, we can make a big impact on how we view ageing, and the way older people are valued across society. It’s time to tell a new story.
Jess Kuehne, Senior Programme Manager for Ageism, Centre for Ageing Better
Much of the general public assumes that older age is inevitably linked to vulnerability, dependency and decline. This is despite the fact that many older people continue to be active and participate in and contribute to workplaces, communities and society in many different ways.
So where does this portrayal come from? Research from the Centre for Ageing Better found that despite different language used by different sectors – covering national Government, news, social media, charities and more – many of their narratives draw on similar stereotypes.
When we looked at language used by health and social care organisations, we found much of the language focuses on death and physical decline. Ageing is talked about as a process of increasingly bad health, and older people are commonly portrayed as frail, vulnerable and dependent.
This means that health and social care organisations, along with other sectors, are contributing to a narrative from which the general public naturally adopts language and frames when talking about ageing.
You may ask why this kind of language matters. It matters because language influences attitudes and behaviours. Stereotypes and ageist language can result in a lack of respect for older people and can lower the quality of care they receive. It can also result in individuals internalising these stereotypes and subsequently behaving in a manner in which they have been told a stereotypical older person behaves.
The Centre for Ageing Better has produced a guide to help give people the confidence to challenge ageism and champion positive and realistic representations of ageing and later life. The guide is designed as a practical tool to support organisations in communicating about ageing and older age. We have also just released a new collection of photos for our age-positive image library highlighting older carers and we hope that social care providers will join us in promoting this tool.
If we all make these small changes, we can make a big impact on how we view ageing, and the way older people are valued across society. It’s time to tell a new story.
Tom Owen, Director, My Home Life England