{"id":60324,"date":"2023-10-09T12:28:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T19:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=60324"},"modified":"2023-10-09T12:28:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T19:28:18","slug":"why-ageism-prevails-and-how-to-stop-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=60324","title":{"rendered":"Why Ageism Prevails and How to Stop It"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_53 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_53\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span><a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/author\/selen-ozturk\/\">Selen Ozturk<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_55 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_55\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2023-10-09T10:36:18-07:00\">Oct 9, 2023<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_56 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_56\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Age isn\u2019t everything when it comes to human health and ability, yet it often dominates conversations about these to the detriment of older adults.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_57 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_57\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"entry-thumb\" title=\"Aging header 1\" src=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/8530944828_ef59c66b79_o.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/8530944828_ef59c66b79_o.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/8530944828_ef59c66b79_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/8530944828_ef59c66b79_o-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/8530944828_ef59c66b79_o-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/8530944828_ef59c66b79_o-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/8530944828_ef59c66b79_o-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/8530944828_ef59c66b79_o-1068x712.jpg 1068w\" alt=\"Aging header 1\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_58 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_58\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Age isn\u2019t everything when it comes to human health and ability, yet it often dominates conversations about these to the detriment of older adults.<\/p>\n<p>In a Friday, Oct. 6 EMS briefing, aging experts discussed why ageism \u2014 discrimination on the basis of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/health-care\/making-mental-health-an-integral-part-of-primary-care-for-older-adults-2\/\">older age<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 prevails in the way we view older adults, and how to overcome it.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Talking about age<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"td-video-replacer\" data-id=\"undefined\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget2\" title=\"Healthy Aging Versus Optimized Aging\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cHgBt9No2Vk?feature=oembed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Dr. Louise Aronson, University of California San Francisco Professor in the Division of Geriatrics, explains why we need to rethink our understanding of what \u201cgood\u201d aging looks like.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>How we talk about aging determines much of how we experience it, said Dr. Louise Aronson, a geriatrics professor at UC San Francisco. \u201cWe were about the same age as a species for a really long time, and though now we\u2019re a whole lot older, some things haven\u2019t changed. Old age still ends in death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As far back as 10,000 B.C. until as recently as 1820 A.D., the global life expectancy was 20 to 30 years; in 2019, it was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/data\/gho\/data\/themes\/mortality-and-global-health-estimates\/ghe-life-expectancy-and-healthy-life-expectancy\">over 73<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The COVID-19 pandemic \u201cshowed us how age matters,\u201d she added, as older adults had disproportionately greater risks and fatalities. U.S. adults 65 and over made up over 75% of COVID-related deaths as of September 2023, according to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/nvss\/vsrr\/covid_weekly\/index.htm\">CDC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2-Aging.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24446\" src=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2-Aging.png\" sizes=\"(max-width: 586px) 100vw, 586px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2-Aging.png 586w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2-Aging-294x300.png 294w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2-Aging-150x153.png 150w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2-Aging-300x306.png 300w\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The health system\u2019s very definition of older adults as anyone 65 or older, however, prevents practitioners from meeting these adults\u2019 individual needs.<\/p>\n<p>For example, \u201cWe give vaccines based on people\u2019s biology and social behaviors, so there are 17 subcategories for children, three for adults between the ages of 19 and 64,\u201d Aronson said. \u201cBut everybody aged 65 and up is lumped into a single category, even though a child would instantly see the physical and assume the differences between a 64 year old and 104 year old. This distinction is not based on scientific evidence about our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, \u201cage isn\u2019t everything,\u201d Aronson said. Ethnic differences also compounded these risks, with Black Americans aged 75 to 84 having a nearly 900-fold difference, Latinos well over a 500-fold difference, Native Americans a 200-fold difference, and AAPI a 150-fold difference over non-Hispanic whites in the first six months of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>This way of viewing age in terms of vulnerability to death has particular implications for ageism in the U.S., where life expectancy has declined to 76.4 years \u2014 the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/pressroom\/nchs_press_releases\/2022\/20221222.htm\">shortest<\/a>\u00a0in two decades.<\/p>\n<p>However, life expectancy, too, is disproportionately divided among racial and economic lines. Even before the pandemic, for example, 56 of the 500 largest U.S. cities had life expectancy gaps up to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nyulangone.org\/news\/large-life-expectancy-gaps-us-cities-linked-racial-ethnic-segregation-neighborhood\">30 years<\/a>\u00a0between neighborhoods a few miles apart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t about biology,\u201d said Aronson. \u201cThat\u2019s about social choices, and where we put our money, our values and our priorities \u2026 I would like to see a world in which you may be \u201cover the hill,\u201d but the entire range of the hill has value \u2026 \u2018anti-aging\u2019 terminology is not helpful. The only way not to age is to die.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The need to address ageism<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"td-video-replacer\" data-id=\"undefined\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget4\" title=\"Supporting Younger and Older People with Inter-generational  Events and Activities\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i8E0UpDPbfY?feature=oembed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Cheryl Brown, Chair of the Executive Committee for the California Commission on Aging, explains how inter-generational activities can help break ageist stereotypes and support young and old people alike.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cheryl Brown, Chair of the Executive Committee for the California Commission on Aging (CCOA), said that behavioral health, caregiver training, and housing access are key to addressing ageism.<\/p>\n<p>Such policies prioritizing equity for older adults are key given that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aging.ca.gov\/download.ashx?lE0rcNUV0zYXf9JtT7jkAg%3d%3d\">by 2030<\/a>, California will be home to 10.8 million older adults \u2014 comprising one-quarter of the state\u2019s population, and nearly twice as many as in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>The trend is similar nationwide:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/content\/dam\/Census\/library\/publications\/2015\/demo\/p25-1143.pdf\">by 2030<\/a>, U.S. adults 65 and over are projected to increase by nearly 18 million from 2020, comprising one in every five Americans and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2018\/cb18-41-population-projections.html\">outnumbering children<\/a>\u00a0for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>Brown urged efforts in other states and nationwide similar to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mpa.aging.ca.gov\/\">California Master Plan for Aging<\/a>, a 10-year blueprint developed by CCOA in 2021 and aimed at supporting older adults socially, economically, and healthwise.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ageism and Alzheimer\u2019s<\/h2>\n<p>Relating ageism to Alzheimer\u2019s disease, Dr. Barry Reisberg \u2014 psychiatry professor at NYU and adjunct aging professor at McGill University \u2014\u00a0 said the point at which older adults can no longer participate socially and in the workforce is later than many may think.<\/p>\n<p>This point is measured clinically by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.alz.org\/media\/kansascity\/documents\/stages_of_alzheimers.pdf\">Global Deterioration Scale<\/a>, which identifies the 7 stages of Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Reisberg, who developed the scale, said stage one precedes any detectable impairment of memory. In stage two, the adult \u201cwould not remember things, like names or where they place things, as well as they could five or 10 years previously\u201d; this lasts a mean of 15 years.<\/p>\n<p>In stage three, this symptom advances to \u201ca decrease in job functioning\u201d \u2014 e.g. organizational or travel skills \u2014 which lasts about seven years in otherwise healthy adults. Many people can go on working into this third stage and the fourth \u2014 which entails more forgetfulness of recent events \u2014 depending upon the job at hand, he emphasized.<\/p>\n<p>In the fifth and sixth stages \u2014 which entail the need for help with daily activities and a greater inability to recall names \u2014 the key is to help older adults \u201cbe all that they can be as long as they can,\u201d said Reisberg. In the seventh and final stage, which normally lasts one to two years, communication is impaired and help is needed with all daily activities, like bathing and dressing.<\/p>\n<p>One way to both combat ageism and support older adults \u2014 especially in the case of health problems like Alzheimer\u2019s \u2014 is optimizing aging through intergenerational activities\u201d and communication, suggested Brown, wherein older adults could learn from innovations of youth and youth could learn from the experience of older adults.<\/p>\n<p>Optimizing aging is not mutually exclusive but inclusive with recognizing aging, added Aronson. \u201cDoes old age come with an increased risk of illness and death? Absolutely it does,\u201d but \u201cage alone cannot predict which category the person is in \u2026\u00a0 There are some teenagers with really good judgment, who could drive perfectly well at 14 and there are others who shouldn\u2019t be driving at 25.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need different sorts of measures than age,\u201d she continued, \u201cso everyone over a certain age doesn\u2019t feel completely a part of this society \u2026 (and) won\u2019t miss out when they could have added to it more fully.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BySelen Ozturk Oct 9, 2023 Age&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,16,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local","category-health","category-u-s-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60325,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60324\/revisions\/60325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}