Healthcare Professionals’ Views and Perspectives towards Aging

Peggy Palsgaard, Christian A. Maino Vieytes, Natasha Peterson, Sarah L. Francis, Lillie Monroe-Lord, Nadine R. Sahyoun, Melissa Ventura-Marra, Lee Weidauer, Furong Xu and Anna E. Arthur ()
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Peggy Palsgaard: Carle Illinois College of Medicine, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Christian A. Maino Vieytes: Division of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Natasha Peterson: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Sarah L. Francis: Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, The Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Lillie Monroe-Lord: Center for Nutrition, Diet, and Health, The University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Nadine R. Sahyoun: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, The University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Melissa Ventura-Marra: Department of Nutritional Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Lee Weidauer: School of Health and Consumer Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA
Furong Xu: School of Education, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
Anna E. Arthur: Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: Improving care for the older population is a growing clinical need in the United States. Ageism and other attitudes of healthcare professionals can negatively impact care for older adults. This study investigated healthcare professionals’ ( N = 140) views towards aging and characterized a confluence of factors influencing ageism perspectives in healthcare workers using path analysis models. These models proposed relationships between aging anxiety, expectations regarding aging, age, ageism, and knowledge. Aging anxiety had a less critical role in the final model than hypothesized and influenced ageism in healthcare workers through its negative effect ( β = −0.27) on expectations regarding aging. In contrast, aging knowledge ( β = −0.23), age ( β = −0.27), and expectations regarding aging ( β = −0.48) directly and inversely influenced ageism. Increased knowledge about the aging process could lower ageism amongst healthcare professionals and improve care for older adults. The results put forth in this study help to characterize and understand healthcare workers’ complex views towards the aging population they often encounter. Moreover, these results highlight the need and utility of leveraging practitioner education for combating ageism in the clinical setting.

Keywords: ageism; anxiety; education; geriatrics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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