Aging biases is a significant issue that is mainly concerned with the increased age of individuals which also tend to influence their health. Aging biases is a real health care issue that may also become a threat to the nursing profession. It can, therefore, be classified as stereotype and discrimination towards people based on their age which is very wrong. Older people tend to be the primary health care consumers and hence any form of discrimination will have a negative impact on their life. Some of the older people frequently receive substandard services based on their age since they are not in a position to respond to any issue (Wiel, Di Pompéo, Segal, Luc, Marc, Vanderstraeten & Hubert, 2018). I have experienced older patients in terrible health conditions to an extent they cannot feed themselves. A close examination of the young nurses indicates that they don't like to be associated with nursing older people as they consider them to be a burden to their life.
According to the nursing profession, it is a requirement to treat all the patients equally without any form of discrimination. Therefore, aging biases has impacted my nursing profession since been able to understand that older adults deserve better care, good healthcare, and love to recover fully. Across the globe, the population of elderly people is also growing and individuals aged more than 65 years will be more than 22% by 2040 (Fukuda, Ohashi, Matsubara, Doi, Kitsuta, Nakajima & Yahagi, 2015). One of the main perspectives changed about aging biases is that they will always face multiple chronic conditions which will require immediate attention. As a nurse, I have developed close affection and love for the elderly to ensure that I save their life and ensure they are able to respond to medicines offered. I have therefore changed my perspective on how to manage multiple chronic conditions which will involve awareness of potential behavior and other ways of relieving pain.
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Besides, from the experiences and challenges the older people go through, it has also changed my nursing practice where I now believe I should provide more home-based care to the elderly patients. Most of the patients may not have enough strength to walk to health care facilities hence the need to take the services closer to them. What I believe they need most, for example, is physical therapy diet and meal planning as well as the administration of injections.
The discussion has also changed my nursing practice since I now consider that nurses are critical in the health care sector and would help to provide the urgent medical need for older people. In addition, I have also gained a human heart after listening to what older people go through in the form of discrimination (Molton & Yorkston, 2017). I have therefore changed my nursing practice where I have embraced humanity and better service delivery. I have, therefore, changed my perspective and considered the older people just like my parents who I would offer the best care and attention.
Part 2
There are various instanced where aging biases have been witnessed which is a significant issue in the nursing profession as it limits the elderly people from accessing the required health care. One out of five adults usually experiences age discrimination in health care (Alexander, Amerigo & Harrelson, 2018). I have experienced various cases of aging biases within the health care where nurses and doctors are supposed to provide the best health care to their patients as they took the oath. As a form of discrimination, you will always hear healthcare nurses talking ill about the older patient such as "you are too old, don't you think you have passed your expiry date." Such as the kind of remarks I have witnessed being directed to the elderly since they are weak and in need of urgent medical care. These thoughtless and insensitive doctors and nurses believe that maybe one day they will also not get older. Such kind of ignorance and rudeness is horrible which is also inhuman.
In addition, within the hospital where I work, I have also witnessed cases of age discrimination since most of the elderly people cannot feed themselves, go to the washroom or even perform other necessary activities, some of the nurses usually treat them in a very inhuman way. They direct harsh and inhuman words which are all directed at them where they leave them to wash and even to feed. They tend to believe that elderly people are a burden to them and they feel not interested in providing basic care.
There is also a violation of patients' rights to access to information due to their age. In most healthcare facilities, most of the nurses do not care to explain what medication is needed and other measures to prevent future illness (Bosson, Kaji, Koenig & Niemann, 2016). Also, I have also witnessed many elderly people in hospitals are also treated with disrespect through a high level of neglect from the staff members. They lack close and personal touch where they are also left to sit in their own excrement while still being denied access to basic needs such as water and food. Of great concern that I witnessed is that nurses and other medical staff are very slow and poor to respond to their medical needs since they are just left in their rooms with no form of monitoring.
Part 3
As part of a community education plan that will be used to address aging bias, experts believe that changing the way society thinks and perceive about aging is the first thing to solve the issue. Age discrimination has been in our culture and attitudes where many people are afraid of aging due to bad perception about the issue. Discrimination based on age is very unlawful since it normally denies the affected person the necessary medical care or job opportunities in society. Despite increase and advance in health care, the fate of human beings living longer always remain unknown full of discrimination and prejudice. Irrespective of age, race or color we all consider ourselves equal.
As part of community education plan to address aging bias, first, it is essential to speak up and engage the general public on how aging happens to ensure that the older people are treated with dignity and respect. Therefore, it will be vital at the community level to mobilize meetings which will be aimed at educating the public that we are all subject to aging hence the need to provide the necessary support.
Another critical point is that the community and health care should be able to understand all the functional ability. Therefore, not all older people have hearing issues, so it was not advisable to raise the voice when talking to them. Consequently, it is imperative to be confident on how to handle people with ageism issue at the community level. They all need love and affection since old age is not a choice.
The community can also be holding regular meetings where the old people are invited to speak up against elderly abuse at the community level. Within such kind of meeting, the elderly can be taken through a simple and basic form of exercise to ensure they are physically fit in the community level. At that point, there will need to speak up about the stigma and ensure they are accorded the necessary respect.
The community can also have a social worker who will take the concerned population such as health care people on the aging process to ensure nobody is discriminated. It is always good to act in the best Godly and human way to avoid being on the wrong side of the law. Therefore, the stereotype will always be ignored; hence there will be peaceful co-existence within the community. Finally, at the community level, there is a need to invite all the elderly people together where they will be able to interact with the younger generation hence improving their confidence and personality at the community level.
Conclusion
Aging biases have been a major issue which is concerned with increased age of individuals that can also affect their health care. The elderly people like proper medical care and attention from the nurses and other medical staff in order to make them feel loved and appreciated. However, there has been increasing in age discrimination especially at the health care level which makes the older people receive inadequate health care in the region. Therefore, the experienced about aging has changed my nursing practice since I, therefore, believe that the elderly people require the right form of treatment to have a full recovery.
There are various cases where aging biases have been witnessed in the health care where the elderly are treated with lack of respect and care. Some nurses have also directed insulting words to the old people who are weak and cannot perform various fundamental issues at their own will such as feeding or walking. It is, therefore, a violation of human rights since they do not receive urgent medical care. There is need to come up with a community education plan that will help to address aging bias such as through holding a regular meeting that will help to educate people about the aging process and how to take care of the elderly. The elderly need to feel loved and appreciated at the community level.
References
Alexander, A. A., Amerigo, L. S., & Harrelson, M. E. (2018). Polyvictimization and sexual risk behaviors in college-aged women. Criminal Justice Review , 43 (3), 345-359.
Bosson, N. E., Kaji, A. H., Koenig, W. J., & Niemann, J. T. (2016). Effect of therapeutic hypothermia on survival and neurologic outcome in the elderly. Therapeutic hypothermia and temperature management , 6 (2), 71-75.
Fukuda, T., Ohashi-Fukuda, N., Matsubara, T., Doi, K., Kitsuta, Y., Nakajima, S., & Yahagi, N. (2015). Trends in outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by age in Japan: an observational study. Medicine , 94 (49).
Molton, I. R., & Yorkston, K. M. (2017). Growing older with a physical disability: A special application of the successful aging paradigm. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B , 72 (2), 290-299.
Wiel, E., Di Pompéo, C., Segal, N., Luc, G., Marc, J. B., Vanderstraeten, C. ... & Hubert, H. (2018). Age discrimination in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest care: a case-control study. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing , 17 (6), 505-512.
