This article summarizes how ageism shows up in healthcare through interpersonal interactions, internalized biases, and policies. Specific educational, environmental, and institutional changes are recommended.

Three people sitting in a waiting room. In the middle, the older person of the three is smaller than the other two as a representation of the way older people are treated as lesser than others.

This article explains how ageism shows up in healthcare settings at every level, from personal interactions to policy choices & how to respond

Age-Friendly Healthcare image from white paper paper on ageism in healthcare. 

Aims to bring ageism in health care to the attention of those who need it most: older patients who experience it & the health care providers who interact with them

Age-Friendly Healthcare Campaign

Age Discrimination in Healthcare: The Argument for an Intersectional, Multi-Level Response

Learn how age-friendly healthcare will build a better future for all

The Campaign's Paper on Ageism in Healthcare

A doctor and a patient looking at a paper together. Above them the text Futurum and below the text How can we combat ageism in society and healthcare?

Two gerontological nurses describe age bias in their field & how to teach students to provide the care & support that older patients require & deserve

How can we combat ageism in society and healthcare?

I recently turned 65 years old.  Wanting to embrace my age, I chose to let my hair grow in gray.  Recently, I was let go from my employment.  I've been seeking reemployment for several months with zero luck.  I have become invisible.  The only attention/correspondence I have been bombarded with is a stack of advertising pamphlets, brochures, and flyers from healthcare institutions because I am Medicare worthy.  The only other response I receive is the standard politically correct routine thank you for your time rejection letter from yet another lost hope of a future employer.  To get a grip on what it really feels like to suddenly experience ageism, turn 65.  Suddenly it feels as though you have been branded with a repulsive red target permanently attached on your back.

Medicare Worthy Ageism and Institutions of Healthcare

This resource was provided as part of a Zoom Webinar

Powerpoint Presentation on how Ageism Impacts Health and Wellness for Older Adults

Exploring and Disrupting Ageism within Aging Services and Healthcare Spaces

This paper is intended to provide an overview of important frameworks and to guide future efforts to both identify and eliminate bias within healthcare delivery systems and health professions training with a particular focus on the intersection of structural racism and ageism.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 

This paper aims to guide future efforts to create a just healthcare system: one that addresses how ageism intersects with other forms of bias, especially racism

Resource Type:	Reports and Papers
About this resource:	This article summarizes how ageism shows up in healthcare through interpersonal interactions, internalized biases, and policies. Specific educational, environmental, and institutional changes are recommended.
Contact information:	Email address: stewarat@uwm.edu Phone: +1 414-251-9150
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Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse

Resource: Age Discrimination in Healthcare: The Argument for an Intersectional, Multi-Level Response

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Age-Friendly Healthcare Campaign

Age Discrimination in Healthcare: The Argument for an Intersectional, Multi-Level Response

The Campaign's Paper on Ageism in Healthcare

How can we combat ageism in society and healthcare?

Exploring the Intersection of Structural Racism & Ageism in Healthcare