This is a powerpoint presentation about a personal bias on ageism

1. Personal Bias:
Ageism
SAMANTHA AZRIEL

2. Personal Bias: Ageism
Article Title: “Ageism in health care? Yep, it’s a thing.”
Author: Rachelle G. Cohen
Published in: Boston Globe
Data Published/Updated: April 28, 2022
Link: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/28/opinion/ageism-health-care-yep-its-thing/

3. Personal Bias: Ageism
In the article, Cohen (2022) talks about her experience in a health
facility after having her broken collarbone checked. At the health
facility, the author spent about five hours in the emergency room,
spending most of the time not being treated but rather, answering a
long list of questions her nurses and social workers asked of her.
Because of her date of birth, Cohen was tagged as “old” and was
asked routine questions about her mental state, whether or not she
slipped or hit her head, lives alone, or needs help bathing, dressing,
or eating. After the nurse recorded her responses, one social worker
came and asked her the same set of questions. When she was
done, a second social worker came and again asked the same
questions.

4. Personal Bias: Ageism
The patient became frustrated that the nurses and social workers were more concerned of
her age rather than looking at and giving her medication for her collar bone. In her article,
Cohen (2022) compares ageism to racism. She states that implicit bias based on age,
gender, race or ethnicity, social class, etc has consequences. Specifically for ageism, it has
leed to high costs as a result of overtreatment, ranging between $158 billion and $226 billion
(Cohen, 2022).

5. Ethical Dilemma
The situation which Rachelle Cohen experienced can be
difficult on the part of the social workers. Perhaps it was
part of the facility protocol for social workers to ask such
questions to their clients when they fall within a particular
age bracket. As employees, social workers are bound by
the facility’s policies and standards.

6. Ethical Dilemma
However, such policies only influence social workers to
discriminate against older people and treat them like they
are incapacitated to perform daily tasks. Some older
people may have deteriorations with their cognitive or
daily functions, but there are still plenty of older people
who can perform activities like any other people can. Over
the years, I have had a bias against older people and this
has influenced me to treat them differently than other
groups.

7. Ethical Standard: Discrimination
According to the National Association of Social Workers (2022), it is the social worker’s
ethical responsibility as a professional to avoid discrimination at all times. Specifically:
“Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form
of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief,
religion, immigration status, or mental or physical ability.” (NASW, 2022, par. 39)

8. Addressing the Ethical Dilemma
To address the dilemma as an ethical social worker, I believe that acknowledging my
personal bias is a great first step. I also need to be more educated about the issue and
expand my knowledge about the common ways that social workers stereotype or
discriminate against older people (or even younger people) so that I may avoid committing
the same mistakes. A personalized approach would also be recommended because not all
people in a certain group experience exactly the same health issues. Lastly, according to
Snedeker (2020), it is important to notice or call out ageist practices portrayed through the
media because these negatively influence behavior and delivery of care.

9. References
Cohen, R. (2022). Ageism in health care? Yep, it’s a thing. Boston Globe Media Partners,
LLC. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/28/opinion/ageism-health-care-yep-its-thing/.
National Association of Social Workers. (2022). Read the code of ethics. National Association
of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-
Ethics-English#.
Snedeker, L. (2020). Aging advocate: An open letter about ageism. Social Work Today 20(5):
12. https://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/Fall20p12.shtml

10. End.
THANK YOU.