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One out of every two people in the world discriminates against the elderly because of their age

2021-06-04T16:48:19.283Z


The World Health Organization warns of the damage caused by ageism, an “invisible” exclusion in people who suffer it


Advertisements for "anti-aging" creams to prevent any signs of aging. Young people unemployed due to their inexperience. Isolated seniors during the pandemic. The background of these situations is ageism, a term that includes stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination that some people exert over others because of their age. This dynamic of exclusion affects both the elderly and the young. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that this discrimination is increasingly widespread: one in two people in the world is ageist against the elderly, according to the

World Report on Ageism

from the international body, published in March. In addition, one in three claims to have been subject to age discrimination in Europe, the only region for which quantitative data are available on the perception of this segregation. The WHO warns that this is an “invisible” exclusion.

Ageism is based on a wrong image of the person, according to Vânia de la Fuente-Núñez, co-author of the report. "Often the elderly are seen as a homogeneous, fragile and vulnerable group, and they are infantilized," says the researcher. But ageism does not only affect this age group: young people claim to have perceived more discrimination than other groups in Europe. "They tend to have quite a few problems accessing the labor market, for example," says De la Fuente-Núñez [youth unemployment in Spain is 38%, 20 points more than the EU average]. The report notes that older people also have difficulties accessing a job and tend to be excluded from research and data collection activities.

For the report, the WHO, together with other entities of the United Nations Organization, has prepared quantitative and qualitative studies on ageism and has compiled the research works that already existed in the different regions of action of the organization - Africa, America , Southeast Asia, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific—.

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Age discrimination has negative effects on health, according to the WHO. "Ageism against the elderly is associated with premature death, which has terrible effects on society," says De la Fuente-Núñez, a fellow at the La Caixa Foundation. According to a study carried out in China, collected in the report, people with negative attitudes towards their own aging were 20% more likely to die in the six years that the investigation lasted than those who had a more positive conception of themselves. Studies in this line that have been done in other countries, such as Australia or the United States, reveal similar results. In addition, people who suffer from age discrimination are more at risk of adopting unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as an unbalanced diet, not taking prescribed medication,consuming alcohol in excess or smoking, according to the WHO.

Ageism is also associated with poor mental health and illnesses such as depression, among others.

A study in Germany reveals that older people who have a negative perception of their own age experience an acceleration of cognitive deterioration, while a positive conception reduces it.

De la Fuente-Núñez indicates that this age group also tends to social isolation.

"Older people internalize the stereotype that old age is a period of loneliness and avoid suffering the rejection that they sometimes feel in an environment with barriers to their participation," says the co-author of the report.

The impact of age discrimination on young people is still unknown due to the lack of studies.

Being a woman, a risk factor

The people who are most frequently aged against the elderly are young men, who have received a poor education and who feel anxiety about death. In contrast, people who are older and who need the care of others are at higher risk of discrimination. Those who have a lower life expectancy according to the indicators of the country of residence and who work in certain professions or sectors, such as those related to high technology or hospitality, are also more likely, where they often feel displaced, according to De la Fuente -Nunez.

The WHO also emphasizes that the main risk factor for being the object of ageism against young people is being a woman.

"If ageism coincides with other possible forms of discrimination, the disadvantage increases", clarifies the co-author of the report, although she stresses that more studies are needed to quantify the impact of other intersectionalities, such as gender, disability or ethnicity.

Two people talk on the Paseo de la Concha in San Sebastián on May 20, 2020. Juan Herrero / EFE

The environment determines the appearance of age discrimination, according to the report. “We are not born ageists, but at the age of four we begin to be aware of the stereotypes that exist, we internalize them and they guide our behavior towards people of other ages and towards ourselves”, clarifies De la Fuente-Núñez. For the author, an example of these influences are children's stories, where older women are often underrepresented. "The result is a segregated society with consequences for people's well-being," he says.

The WHO proposes to promote intergenerational contact to combat ageism. "Having a relationship with members of another age confronts us with the stereotypes that we had assumed and makes us rethink whether they were false," explains De la Fuente-Núñez. The relationship experiences between people of different ages that have been tested have been positive, according to the report. This is corroborated by an experiment that was carried out in Singapore in 2013, in which young and old were paired for two months to play video games. At the end of the experiment, all the participants felt less awkward and more confident with members of the other age group.

The strengthening of policies and laws against discrimination is another key piece, according to De la Fuente-Núñez.

"More legislation against ageism will make people more aware of this problem," he says.

WHO also underlines the importance of creating a network of educational activities from primary school to university that provide accurate information and banish stereotypes and prejudices about different age groups.

“The years cannot define our access to resources or be a factor that divides people.

Society must understand as soon as possible that this is a world for all ages ”, says De la Fuente-Núñez.

The pandemic shows discrimination against the elderly

The covid has had devastating effects on the health of the elderly, but it has also made visible the discrimination they suffer, according to the WHO report. The study reflects that age has been used as a criterion to give access to medical care and to adopt isolation measures. The UK Government asked those over 70 to isolate themselves for four months; in Colombia and Serbia, only this group of the population was confined; and in the United Arab Emirates, people over 60 years old were prohibited from entering shopping malls or restaurants after deconfinement. "Governments have assumed that all older people are homogeneously dependent and the measures they have adopted have limited their access to basic resources", Vânia de la Fuente-Núñez, co-author of the WHO report, says.

This situation has also manifested itself in the media landscape, according to the WHO. "The media have stereotyped the elderly as fragile people, which has even led them to feel very afraid and isolate themselves," says De la Fuente-Núñez. An analysis of 500 headlines in two Spanish newspapers during the pandemic concluded that 71% of them represented the elderly in a negative way. "The media should do justice to diversity and show that age does not define the capabilities of each person," says the researcher.

Source: elparis

All life articles on 2021-06-04

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