a consequence of their living patterns.
Most of the 10 percent of the population requiring long-term care for chronic ailments are elderly (Minahan, 1994, p. 161). As an example, where only 10 percent of the total population requires long-term care, 50 percent of those individuals aged 80 years or older require long-term care. The great majority of the elderly between the ages of 65 and 80 years old (which is the age group comprising the great majority of the elderly population segment), however, are not chronically ill, and, thus, do not require long-term care. One aspect of ageism, however, attempts to label all elderly persons as chronically ill persons requiring long-term care, where, in fact, most are vigorous and healthy, and require little more medical attention than do persons in other age groups.
Ageism, as is true of sexism or racism, is a denial of rights or opportunities to a specific group of people on the basis of a characteristic over which individuals included within the group have no control, and that has no bearing in most instances on their abilities to successfully participate in and contribute to the activities from which they are excluded (Townsend, 1986, p. 11). Ageism is the product of stereotypes and prejudices applied to older individuals in society. As is true of most stereotypes and prejudices, there is often a kernel of fact associated with many of the stereotypes and prejudices associated with the elderly. When used to support stereotypes and prejudices, however, these kernels of fact are often distorted, misinterpreted, or generalized in ways which promote unwarranted, unfair, and unacceptable attitudes and policies toward the elderly, which yield outcomes which are highly detrimental to their interests, and to the interests of society as a whole. It is a myth, as an example, that older persons are unable to learn (Tornstam, 1992, pp. 318-326). In point of fact, older adults are capable of ...