Ageism: Care at the Extremes of Life

Individuals may experience ageism and age discrimination in numerous aspects of their lives. This typically refers to negative or indifferent attitudes towards people because of their age (old or young). The cases exemplified in this chapter portray both sides of the spectrum where age discrimination can occur. Case one discusses the challenges faced by an elderly patient in a healthcare setting due to their age. This form of age discrimination has been documented more commonly in the literature. These cases explore how the elderly population can experience dismissive attitudes and differential treatment. Another case involves a health professional student who is significantly younger than her peers and how this age gap can impact her learning environment and the opportunities that she has missed due to it. While the scenarios of the cases demonstrate overt displays of age discrimination, it is also common for ageism to occur in more subtle instances.