Cultural beliefs determine the social values and norms related to the aging process and role the elderly play in the society. The beliefs about the aging keep on evolving depending on the perception that people have towards a group of people. In the current digital world, the young adults are taking over, leaving the aging population to struggle with discrimination in almost all areas of life. However, the perception and discrimination towards the aging population can be changed with more interactions of the two parties. Age, culture, race, gender and living situation affect patient-nurse communication, but a community educational plan to address aging bias.
Reflection
The behavior of a patient is influenced by their background, age, culture, race, gender, and living situation, which in turn affects the way they interact with the nurses. The way the patient behaves impacts how the nurse will deliver medical services. When dealing with the opposite gender, the patient may not be willing to talk about their issue. It creates a situation where there is a misunderstanding, making it hard to diagnose and treat the patient. When dealing with aged patients, it is hard to convince them about the medical options that are best for them. Such patients feel that I am too young and not knowledgeable enough to treat them. Some even question my age and whether I have treated such health issues before. Treating a cross-culture patient is complicated as they completely mistrust me. Hence, cross-cultural patients feel that I do not have knowledge related to their cultural health beliefs which are required when delivering care (Donizzetti, 2019). The language barrier is an issue faced when dealing with cross-cultural patients; misunderstandings may result in wrong diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, when treating patients who belong to my race, it is easier as they condone that I understand them. It is easier to create a trustworthy relationship between the nurse and the patient which improves healthcare delivery. The economically-disadvantaged patients mostly fear to talk about their health issues due to fear of being unable to pay for the medication required. Thus, dealing with the elderly is the hardest part, and that explains why they are treated differently in society.
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While I was growing up, adults were treated differently depending on age. In my family, adults were treated with respect despite age group, and failure to that would result in punishment. In my culture, community, and society, adults, from the age of 80 years and above were respected a lot by everyone and treated in the right way as they used to be consulted in case of an issue. They were consulted by leaders on how they would rule over the people. The elders from the ages of 60 years to 80 years were respectable people, given leadership opportunities. They were regarded as knowledgeable and wise to deal with any situation that the society faced (Markey, Tilki, & Taylor, 2018). The elders from the ages 40 to 60 years were allowed leadership positions in businesses, as they were considered vigilant and able to run businesses for the welfare of the people. Despite respect treatment given to the elderly, they are still faced with bias.
Age Bias Witnesses
The aging population is discriminated against on different grounds. In healthcare services, the aging group of people is discriminated against; most of them are denied medical attention. The healthcare’s providers indicate that the aged do not have any benefit in the society, which means they are using the available resource s, ye t there is no positive contribution. Therefore, giving them the limited healthcare provisions such as drugs is observed as wastage, yet the medication can be used on a more vibrant generation that will help improve society. The aging population is thus asked to either pay for their healthcare requirements or wait till the government supplies medical resources. The aging population faces bias in the labor market as well. The probability of a forty-five year’s old qualified employee to be hired in a company is low compared to a thirty years old worker. It is indicated that the forty-five applicant may have all the knowledge in that field, but they cannot fit in the technological world (Lahey & Oxley, 2018). The knowledge of the aging population is considered as outdated, thus denied chances which the aging could have used to improve the performance of a business. Stereotyping of the aging in the labor market starts from the interview, where they are told point blank that employers prefer young college graduates. Discrimination extends to the leadership positions.
In nursing practice, the aging people are faced with issues on how they are assisted. The nurses are supposed to educate and train the aging population on how they should take care of their health and manage any terminal illnesses they have. The nurses, however, consider all the training and educating the aging population as tiresome and timewasting. Helping a single aging individual can take a lot of time, especially in training practice, where the nurse has to repeat one procedure continuously (Markey, Tilki, & Taylor, 2018) . At the end, the aged individual may not even understand how they should manage their health leaving the nurse tired and frustrated. It explains why nurses have a negative attitude towards helping the aging population. They prefer to treat them without paying much attention to educating and training.
The aging population is now losing its importance in political and community leaderships. The youth are campaigning against the aging population, indicating that they are getting senile as they grow old and that affects the decisions made. The young people are gaining the support of fellow youth and removing the aged from power. In addition, the youth no longer seek help from the aging population; they prefer to make decisions depending on current civilization. Most youths indicate that the aging population is still holding on cultural beliefs and practices which pull the society backward. Age discrimination is based on other factors such as gender, culture, race and living situations. The economically-disadvantaged aging people are faced with excessive discrimination as they have nothing to give to the people. The wealthy aging people are treated better as they have money, which can be invested back to the society (Markey, Tilki, & Taylor, 2018). Most people are not aware of the effects that aging bias has to the aging population and the community as a whole; thus the need for an educational plan to address the issue.
Community Education Plan addressing Ageing Bias
Purpose and Objective of the Initiative
The community plan will aim at addressing the age discrimination problems faced by the aging population.
It will help restore the respect aging populations were treated with, in the past.
The plan will create more interaction opportunities between the young and the aging population to establish common grounds on how these two populations can work together.
Primary Audience
The aging population is the primary audience. The number of people getting older is on the rise which creates pressure on resources such as healthcare. However, the perception that people had about the aging population is changing fast, and they are being discriminated on almost every aspect of life. The government is left with the problem of taking care of them, such as giving them monthly assistance, yet some of them are still strong enough to work and contribute to the society (Donizzetti, 2019).
Planning Team and Educational Materials
Nursing materials required for the aged population
Booklets on how to care for the aged
Computers and projectors for presentation purposes
Collaborative Community Partners
Government agents dealing with aging population rights
Healthcare providers
Proper Medium
Creating pamphlets and distributing them throughout the community.
Announcing throughout the community on the day when the plan will be implemented, where people will meet and at what time.
Implementations
Introducing the aging population rights against unfair treatment in the place of work, where they should be allowed to take interviews and show their skills like young applicants.
Community clean-up programs where both aging and the youth will work together thus creating closer relationships, and which will be organized once a month for twelve months.
Educating the aging population about insurance programs so that their health needs can be covered.
Monitoring
Monitoring will touch on whether the aging population is being incorporated on daily activities in the community. The team members will follow up with events to determine if decisions of the aged are being taken into consideration in political and leadership fields. The team will also establish whether the health status of the aging population is increasing.
Conclusion
Aging bias is an issue facing the society, and the effects are not only to the aging but the entire society. If the aging population is not allowed to participate in social development, they become a burden to the people. However, the perception towards the aging can be changed by educating the community the importance of the aging population. The young adults should interact with the aging population on different community projects to improve their relationship, which will help reduce discrimination against the aging.
References
Donizzetti, A. R. (2019). Ageism In An Aging Society: The Role Of Knowledge, Anxiety About Aging, And Stereotypes In Young People And Adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 16 (8), 1329.
Lahey, J. N., & Oxley, D. R. (2018). Discrimination at the Intersection of Age, Race, and Gender: Evidence from a Lab-in-the-field Experiment (No. w25357). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Markey, K., Tilki, M., & Taylor, G. (2018). Understanding nurses’ concerns when caring for patients from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Journal of clinical nursing , 27 (1-2), e259-e268.
