Essay On Ageism

Ageism is discrimination or prejudice based solely on a person’s age, an extreme issue in many elderly clients that reside in sheltered housing communities, as well as quality of life. Bodner, Cohen- Friedel, and Yaretzky conducted a study involving awareness and beliefs about ageism and quality of life in sheltered housing versus those feelings in seniors who live outside such an environment. It was anticipated that that seniors within sheltered housing would have elevated agist attitudes. To test this hypothesis, they took a sample of one hundred twenty six volunteers between the ages of sixty four and ninety four. The contributors completed a survey called the Fraboni scale of ageism, and a Quality of Life (QoL) Inventory. Bodner, Cohen-

(2008) Preliminary report of a palliative care and case management project in an emergency department for chronically ill elderly patients. Journal of Urban Health, 85 (3), 443-51. Montefiore Medical Center created a program in their Emergency Department that identified chronically ill, elderly patients. They found that these patients were more likely to need palliative or home care, and later on hospice care. This preliminary report and case management pilot project made connecting patients to such services and ultimately allowing patients far more accessible options to these types of care. The study of this program is beneficial because most elderly clients who come into the emergency department with pain or injury associated chronic illness. More often than not, these clients, who may be cared for with palliative or hospice care, do not have easy access to these services. In addition, Medicare does not always pay for necessary services that are so needed by clients with severe chronic illnesses, especially in urban areas. Sixty-nine percent of clients and their families’ who participated in this study expressed true satisfaction in the services provided by nurses. There was a great appreciation of the assessments used to connect clients to services needed and even more so that they were affordable choices. Programs such as Montefiore Medical Centers should be more wisely utilized as Medicare

This program, called the Nijmegen Falls Prevention Program, included one hundred thirteen elderly clients with a history of falls. Exercise sessions were held twice a week for five weeks with fall monitoring done before and after the experiment. Control assessments were also done continuously thru the study to determine client changes in standing balance, balance confidence, and obstacle avoidance skills. The results of the Nijmegen Falls Prevention Program showed that the number of falls within the exercise group dropped by a significant forty six percent! Not only less falls, but obstacle avoidance skills dramatically improved as did balance