Bias in Healthcare

1. What surprised you the most about Betty? Explain your response.

The most surprising thing about Betty, as gleaned from the conversation, is her claim that she has lived without regrets. It is surprising because individuals are not optimized to always make the best decisions and that there are occasions when mistakes are made in decisions. Looking back at life in retrospect, especially at her advanced age of 76 years, it is difficult to accept that she has never made any mistakes in her life and would not wish to go back and change some aspects of her life. Another surprising thing is Betty’s claim that she has never been concerned with age and ageism. It is difficult to accept that as a woman, Better is not concerned with age and ageism (Davidson Films, Inc., 2010).

2. Betty talks about her mom being put into a nursing home. Do you feel that ageism (bias based on a person’s age) played a role in the outcome of that admission? Why or why not?

Ageism played a role in the outcome of the admission of Betty’s mom into a nursing home. Ageism presented as practices, institutional policies and prejudicial attitudes that perpetuated discrimination and stereotyping on the basis of age. The negative attitudes and prejudices arose from the vulnerabilities and health declines that she experienced. The socially ingrained ageism become self-fulfilling by promoting the stereotype of decline, burden and activity.  Bias in Healthcare Essay Paper

3. As an LPN, what can you do to decrease ageism?

Ageism presents a concern for health care delivery through presenting negative attitudes and stereotypes as well as negative consequences for quality of care and health. Nurses have a responsibility to reduce its occurrence. There are five strategies through which nurses can intervene. Firstly, working with older adults and allowing them to make decisions, thereby enhancing their independence. Secondly, openly talking on anxiety about own ageing thereby presenting the issue of ageing as a common concern. Thirdly, comforting older adults subjected to the negative aspects of ageism. Fourthly, improving knowledge of ageing so as to make informed care decisions and not simply rely on prejudicial information. Finally, have a positive attitude towards aging (Burnes et al., 2019).

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4. Do you feel that ageism plays a role in health care outcomes? Why or why not?

Ageism has an impact on health care outcomes. This occurs by enhancing prejudicial attitudes and perceptions about older adults. As a concept, ageism causes older adults to assimilate negative beliefs about ageing, and causes medical personnel and facilities to promote bias against older adults. This results in detrimental treatment for older adults as they are excluded from receiving treatment, their lives are devalued, denied access to treatments and health care, experience reduced longevity, and experience poor quality of life and wellbeing (Chang et al., 2020).

References

Burnes, D., Sheppard, C., Henderson, Jr., C., Wassel, M., Cope, R., Barber, C., & Pillemer, K. (2019). Interventions to Reduce Ageism Against Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Public Health Association, 109(8), e1-e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305123

Chang, E., Kannoth, S., Levy, S., Wang, S., Lee, J., & Levy, B. (2020). Global reach of ageism on older persons’ health: A systematic review. PLoS One, 15(1), e0220857. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220857

Davidson Films, Inc. (2010, July 14). These Vital Years: A Conversation with Betty Friedan at 76 [Video file]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfUkSSUzLC8

Module 06 Discussion – Bias in Healthcare

Initial Post – This discussion is about ageism and bias. Reflect on your personal perception of older adults (aged 65 and above). Consider it is your first day at a clinical site, and your preceptor tells you that your client is a 76 year old female. Does that paint a picture of your day? Do you have different expectations about the physical and cognitive abilities of a 76 year old client than you would for a 46 year old client? Do you anticipate having to provide more care for a 76 year old than for a 46 year old? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you are not alone.

After viewing this video: These Vital Years: A Conversation With Betty Friedan at 76

Please answer the following questions:

1. What surprised you the most about Betty? Explain your response.
2. Betty talks about her mom being put into a nursing home. Do you feel that ageism (bias based on a person’s age) played a role in the outcome of that admission? Why or why not?
3. As an LPN, what can you do to decrease ageism?
4. Do you feel that ageism plays a role in health care outcomes? Why or why not?

Bias in Healthcare Essay Paper