Negative attitudes towards the elderly are harmful to their health
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Every year on October 1, the world celebrates the Day of Older Persons, and WHO calls for saying there is no discrimination over age. According to WHO data, in almost every country there is an infringement of rights or a poor attitude towards the elderly, which can not but affect their health, both mental and physical.
Experts of the World Health Organization conducted a survey and found that more than half of respondents believe that the elderly are treated without due respect. In total, 83 thousand people of different age groups and from different countries took part in the survey. According to the results, the least respect for the elderly people is shown in countries with a high standard of living. According to the head of the Department of Aging of John Byrd, most people at the subconscious level have a stereotypical opinion about the elderly, but any norms can and should be changed, a clear example of this may be sexism or racism.
Because of the negative attitude towards the elderly, their mental and physical health is deteriorating. Often people in the age group feel that they burden their loved ones, they lose their self-esteem, which threatens the development of depressive disorders and social isolation. According to one of the latest studies in this field, people in old age who perceive their own aging are negative, after disability are worse adapted to life, and on average their life expectancy is less by 7.5 years, compared with those who are positive about their own age.
In about 10 years, the number of elderly people in the world will double, and in 30 years, 2 billion elderly people will live on the planet.
The company, according to the coordinator of WHO on the aging of Alana Office, undoubtedly will benefit the increase in the number of people in old age, but before this should eliminate prejudices that are firmly entrenched in the view of modern society.
According to the Office, the negative attitude towards the elderly can be manifested in different ways: the termination of work and retirement after reaching the established age, the attitude towards the weaker, dependent, incapable of using modern devices, communications, etc.
In the opinion of a number of specialists, the determination of the retirement age is based on the equation of all elderly people, while the possibilities of individuals who have reached the legal age are not taken into account. Such ideas are deeply embedded in our subconscious and are often taken into account in various data collections, the distribution of health resources, and so on.
This year, the WHO Director-General was called upon to develop a plan to combat negative attitudes towards the elderly, as well as implement an action plan on aging and health. The day of the elderly person this year is designed to draw attention to this issue and the WHO set a goal to urge everyone to think about the consequences of a bad attitude towards the elderly.
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