Public Perceptions of Older People A literature review

services, mistreated or misdiagnosed because of their status as an older
person. Ill health may be perceived as the norm for older people and thus
deemed acceptable for the elderly to suffer from many illnesses without
adequate care.
7.7.4 Working with older people as a career choice
Healthcare professionals and nurses in particular tend to be gatekeepers for
health information, and play a key role in health promotion and education for
older people (Lee et al. 2006). A large body of research has focused on the
association between health students’ attitudes toward older people and ageing
and their interest or willingness to work in geriatric care. Redmond et al.
(2008) for example, proposed that the attitude of social work students before
they enter practice could have a significant impact on their occupational
choices as professionals. Lee (2009) asserts that negative attitudes towards
older people and instances of ageism in American society can become an
obstacle to training qualified elder care providers. Unfavourable attitudes and
stereotypes of older people among staff are also believed to act as a barrier to
the successful delivery of health information and education and overall health
management (Lee et al. 2006).
Discriminatory practices by staff may not necessarily be based on intent but
rather provoked by a lack of skills and confidence in working with older people
(DoH 2001). Serious shortcomings in training for healthcare professionals and
a need for further education in the care of older people have been identified
(Alliance for Ageing Research 2003; Brown et al. 2008). Sufficient knowledge
of older people and ageing and a positive attitude are thus seen as imperative
for imparting health promoting information, which, according to the NCAOP
(2005b), will be particularly important to future generations of older people
and their health status in terms of dealing with negative attitudes towards
ageing and promoting both physical and mental health and well-being.
As populations continue to age there is increasing concern globally about the
quality of healthcare currently available to older people, and the availability of
suitably qualified health and social care staff with an interest in working with
older people (Happell 2002; Brown et al. 2008). However, the identification of
unfavourable views toward geriatrics as a career choice amongst students in
health and social care appears to be a long-standing and recurrent theme in
the literature (Happell 2002; Alliance for Ageing Research 2003; Brown et al.
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