Public Perceptions of Older People A literature review

improving attitudes and perceptions of older people, and combating ageism
(Hagestad & Uhlenberg 2005).
In an educational or work-related setting, the importance of the quality of
experience with older people may be reflected in people’s desire to work in
older persons’ care settings in the future. Happell (2002) for example,
reported that nursing students who ranked care of the older person as their
least preferred career option frequently cited previous or current experiences
working with older people in their reasoning. Healthcare students’ contact with
older adults is often in the form of frail patients with multiple disabling
medical problems in long-term care or hospital settings (Westmoreland et al.
2009). Brown et al. (2008) asserted that negative views could develop during
nursing training and through work placements in environments with poor
standards of care and evidence of negative attitudes towards older people.
Conversely, studies have found that early exposure to healthy older people
can improve perceptions of older people and ageing (Bernard et al. 2003).
Positive experiences in enriched environments could reinforce existing positive
perceptions of work with older people, or positively influence initially negative
perceptions. The attitude of other staff towards their work, the quality of
leadership and communication were found to be particularly crucial factors in
the creation of positive or negative learning environments (Brown et al.
2008).
It may not be the level of exposure to older people that may influence
people’s perceptions, but may be the nature and quality of contact people
have with older people. It therefore seems important to highlight the positive
aspects of ageing and older people and encourage meaningful experiences in
the design of any intergenerational intervention to overcome negative
stereotypes and improve perceptions of older people.
7.6.5 Societal and cultural influences on perceptions of older people
Public perceptions of older people can frequently stem from the culture within
which they are embedded. For instance, these can include the household and
familial beliefs, social influences, popular culture, the media, literature, and
even the environment (Gilbert & Ricketts 2008; Robinson et al. 2008;
Musaiger & D’Souza 2009).
29