Paper Example on Discrimination Against Older Adults: Examining Ageism in Society

Introduction

Ageism is discrimination against older adults through stereotype systems. This is a social issue in which the aged, according to the World Health Organization, is anyone aged 65years and above (Wyman, Shiovitz-Ezra, & Bengel, 2018). The people who are younger than the old adults discriminate against them for varied reasons. This is a research that has been conducted over time by different people, and the results found to be true. The issue is a common thing that is being experienced in almost all countries in the world.

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This discrimination ranges from the micro levels to the macro levels. The micro levels included the personal ad those people who are of proximity to the old adults (North, 2015). These may consist of family and relatives of the aged person. The macro levels consist of the society, the government, health care providers, and other relative stakeholders who may not be directly associated with the aged person.

Among some of the reasons for discrimination against the aged is the fear of deaths. The aged people are nearing their demise; a majority of the people would not want to live in such environs. They are seen as an unnecessary burden since they would have a majority of the thing done for them. In the health care system, the doctors count it a waste since it is like reviving someone whose hopes of living longer is low and thus a waste of time and resources.

The effects of ageism are tremendous and have risen high enough to attract debates on its credibility. Opinions from researchers have it that it is a subject that needs to be reviewed and looked into (Heywood & Jirjahn, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to discuss ageism in the health care system of New Zealand. Among the topics to be tackled will include the prevalence of the issue and the impact it has on the society and the older adults, measures that have been already taken to curb it ad those that are being recommended both in New Zealand and the world at large.

The Issue within New Zealand

Prevalence of Ageism in New Zealand

Like any other developed nation, the population of New Zealand is aging. Over the years, people have resorted to small families rather than big ones. The fertility of the country has been dropping and is currently at replacement level, with a population growth rate of 0.79% (Khawaja & Thomson, 2019). This projection of one aged person for every four New Zealanders tends to increase the ratio of the aged to the young people.

The concentration of the country on aged people has been low. For instance, a majority of the jobs are being given to young people, while the elderly people have been left at the elderly care homes without any hobs (Heywood & Jirjahn, 2016). Little effort is being made to help these people, for example, superannuation, health, and other services that are relevant to aged people are unsustainable and inequitable generally. The old thus are being discriminated.

The issue is viewed from different aspects that relate to statistics for studying the aged. One of it includes the location of people. Among these, the aged people form the majority, about 15% of the entire population, according to the New Zealand Demographics of 2018 (Broad, 2018). This is because the rural areas are poorly developed in terms of infrastructure, and is, therefore, makes life difficult for them.

The aged have a high demand for medical health than any other population age group and therefore, would require living in a place where they can easily access the health care system. The rural areas have, for example, poor roads and thus it would make it difficult to access health facilities. They also require other services like leisure in exotic places.

The lack of these provisions as disused above makes the elderly look for ways that they can use to improve their lives. Few of these older adults get the chance to work under employment in companies that appreciate their efforts.

Impact of Ageism on Older Adults

One of the effects that ageism has on older adults is the discrimination they face, especially in the health sector. Majority for the caregivers view them as an unnecessary burden since they are exposed to significant health risks. The problem is that they consider them to be dying and therefore, are consuming the health resources with no good avail and therefore are discriminated against.

They are also discriminated in the employment sector. The majority of employers would prefer to employ younger people who are energetic and can work effectively and efficiently. This leaves the elderly with no jobs hence making them lack a source of livelihood.

The older adults also are often undertreated or overtreated. This is because of assumptions that doctors make due to their old age. For instance, a doctor may conclude that depression among older adults is a common thing and therefore end up either giving them an overdose or an underdoes (Ouchida, & Lachs, 2015). They may also be given the wrong medication.

They also face stigmatization from society. As discussed earlier, the older adults are associated with near-death, and therefore, many people scare away from this fact. People would want to stay in environments that bring meaning to their lives and not a gloomy one, always reminding them of death. They, therefore, stay away from older adults and leave them to stay all alone.

Impact of Ageism on the New Zealand Society

One of the significant effects of ageism on society is the flooding of care homes with the problems of understaffing. The numbers of nurses who are specialized in taking care of older adults are few as compared to those who take care of the rest of the population (Sayers & Brunton, 2019). The nurses, therefore, strain due to being overworked.

Another problem which has gone viral is the underpayment of the nurses. They do a lot of work, are few in number and are paid less as compared to other healthcare workers (Radio New Zealand, 2019). They would thus request for higher pay that is directly proportional to the kind of work they do.

In the universities and colleges, geriatrics is being despised by both students and teachers. This is because they see it as an ignoble cause since one will be dealing with the aged people (Chen, Kiersma, Yehle, & Plake, 2015). As it had been discussed earlier on, the majority of the young people do not like staying in environments that remind them of death. Therefore, the geriatrics career is mostly despised foe they mostly deal with the elderly.

The government, however, views the elderly differently and would incorporate them in the national budget. In as much as society despises them, the government has taken steps to ensure that the old adults are taken care of. The addition of the pay to the acre givers is one of the strategies that the government can use to ensure that they are satisfied and that the nurses take good care of the older adults.

The general spending on older people is gradually increasing and is superseding expenses. According to the Ministry of Health New Zealand, the Department of Behavioural Health spending on the services for older people has been growing more than their costs (Hauora, 2016). These figures are expected to build on the number of older adults requiring care, but the proportion is to reduce.

Measures are taken to Address Ageism in the Health Care System

Whether the Strategies are Appropriate and Effective

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 prevents New Zealanders from discrimination which has been defined as any unfair or unfavourable treatment of another person (Thomson, 2018). Perception of the aged people is also included under this act; therefore, they are protected by it in employment, health care facilities, or any other places that they may face discrimination.

There is also a finance strategy that has been put up correctly for older adults. The area that the policy covers is mostly their medical needs. They use the funds to pay for their medical bill and any other health requirements. This is favourable as their central concerns would be taken care of and little contribution is to be taken form the family.

The government also established a retirement saving scheme called the Kiwisaver. Small portions of the individual salary are deducted every payday before they retire and are transferred to the savings accounts. The employers are expected to contribute 3% of this amount from the gross pay (New Zealand Now, 2018). The money is then matured when one reaches the age of 65 years. This would enable the old adults to cater to their needs and reduces the dependency ration on the working population.

Implementation and Reviewing of the Strategies

The Age Well National Science Challenge has been researching for the past four years and has derived a scheme that is under implementation at the moment. It started in 2019, and the purpose is to help the old adults settle down for their old age considering their specifications. For instance, they give an 80 % purchase price of houses at their market value to specifically older people (NRACC, 2019). They can afford and therefore buy their own homes since the NRACC (2019) research revealed that a majority of the older adults might have difficulties paying rent.

Lastly, the health centre, under the directory of Eleanor Bodger, established an initiative to fight against ageism in several ways. The solution she provides in her organization includes the learning scheme to teach people to appreciate the old adults and take care of them (Bodger, 2019). They are to also lobby for better infrastructure and a functional building design that would be favourable to the older adults in the society.

The Selwyn Foundation is a charitable trust that provides services to older people and their families. The organization began in the year 2000, and its main focus was to help the old adults' age gracefully by creating communities where the old age well in a safe and a supportive environment (The Selwyn Foundation, 2019). They offer residential care; respite care gives independent living to the old. The organization has branches in a different town that cater to the needs of the older adults in those particular towns.

Initiatives Used to Counter Ageism in other Countries and their Relevance to New Zealand

What other Countries have Implemented

Ageism is a common social issue in a substantial part of the country, and each state has its ways of dealing with it. In Canada, for example, medical schools have a program for nursing graduates which teaches them on care for older adults. This way, the caregivers can understand that it is their responsibility and actually in the line of duty. This can be implemented primarily to undo the negative attitude that New Zealanders have towards geriatrics.

In the United States, there are bodies like the American Psychological Association Committee on the aging, which funds the doctoral level neuropsychologists. This policy commenced in February 2002 to fight against ageism (Dittmann, 2019). The organization has successfully educated several medical practitioners on the care for older adults. In New Zealand, the psychology departments need to implement this strategy and incorporate it into their educational curricula.

The federal government of the United States also has policies like the Medicaid and Medicare on older adults under the Older Americans Act, whose aim is to improve the quality of life for the elderly (Blancato & Ponder, 2015). The act was first initiated in the year 1965 and has been in implementation to date. The New Zealanders also have a similar law to protect the aged; however, their old age is different than that for the USA, and it is at 67 years while in New Zealand it is at 65 years. This means that old A...