AGE-OLD STEREOTYPES
As the third decade of the 21st century hits its stride, one consistent trend stands out. Discrimination has become a dirty word. Sexism, racism, a plethora of other “isms” and homophobia are now deeply uncool. But someone seems to have forgotten to add “ageism” to the memo.
Ageist attitudes cut right across the lives of older New Zealanders. Issues faced by job seekers once they hit their fifties are well documented. Likewise, elder abuse is rife. The New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing found that one in 10 people aged over 65 had suffered elder abuse, which could be physical, financial or neglect.
The Covid pandemic has also highlighted how our society views older people’s health. It’s a sensitive subject, with many academic papers devoted to the ethics of rationing health services based on age.
The knee-jerk reaction in our society is that younger people have longer to live and therefore are more deserving of treatment, says Professor Stephen Neville, head of the nursing department at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). He cites a news item in early October that the health system might need to ration care if New Zealand had a major Covid outbreak.
“They’re not saying how they’re going to do it. But I guarantee you that there will be decisions based on age. What’s the rationale behind that? Is it saying that an older adult’s life is less worthy of treatment than a younger person’s life?”
It goes without saying that all older adults were
