Ageism in clinical practice and improving educational programmes based on anti-ageism principles

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the manifestations of ageism in clinical practice, the relationship of ageism with the presence of senile asthenia and comorbidity in the picture of the disease, substantiation of the improvement of educational programs based on anti-age approaches. Methodology. To assess the subjective perception of discrimination, patients of mature, elderly and senile age were examined; “Questionnaire for Citizens aged 75 and Over”, “Ageism Questionnaire” by E. Palmare was used; the Charlson polymorbidity index was calculated; to improve the training programs for medical specialists, their awareness of the main problems of aging was studied. Results. Ageism manifestations were correlated with the development of senile asthenia and comorbidity in the clinical picture of the disease. It has been shown that the psychological discomfort of elderly and senile patients associated with ageism increases with age, which may exceed in importance the immediate health problems in the overall picture of the disease. The most important manifestation of the subjective perception of bias is the justification by the attending physician of the disease mainly by the age of the patients, which indirectly implies ignoring other causes of pathology and reduces the activity of carrying out therapeutic and diagnostic measures. As a result of the study, the need to improve educational programs for the training of medical specialists was substantiated, taking into account the gerontological and anti-aging approach.