Ageism: Where It Comes From and What It Does

According to the United Nations, the number of older-age adults across the world has almost quintupled in the last 65 years and by 2050 1 in 6 people in the world will be over the age of 65, up from 1 in 11 in 2019.  Among the main drivers of the exponential growth in the older population in developed countries have been increases in the quality of life and life expectancy accompanied by decreases in infant mortality and birth rates, advances in combatting chronic diseases of middle age and beyond (i.e., cardiovascular problems and cancer) and early successes in what is expected to be a revolution in addressing diseases and conditions typically associated with old age using a variety of tools including better nutrition, medical care, education, technology, sanitation and socio-economic support.  Crucially, greater life expectancy in wealthier countries has been accompanied by a "compression in morbidity", which refers to the health-related quality of life before death, and researchers are claiming that people "will be healthier for even longer".  This aging of the population opens up opportunities, but also presents challenges to governments, society and older persons themselves.  The World Health Organization has called for engagement around four action areas: "change how we think, feel and act towards age and ageing; ensure that communities foster older people's abilities; deliver person-centered integrated care and services that respond to older people's needs; and provide access to long-term care for older people who need it".  In order for these efforts to be successful, it is essential to have a better understanding of aging, how it is measured and experienced by older persons in their day-to-day lives and how deeply engrained personal and institutional ageism in society creates barriers to progress that harm everyone, not just those persons who are on the receiving end of discrimination and stereotyping.