Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T00:28:38.821Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ageism and caring attitudes among nurses in oncology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2015

S. Schroyen ,
P. Missotten ,
G. Jerusalem ,
C. Gilles  and
S. Adam
S. Schroyen*
Affiliation:
Psychology of Aging Unit, University of Liège (B63C), Liège, Belgium
P. Missotten
Affiliation:
Psychology of Aging Unit, University of Liège (B63C), Liège, Belgium
G. Jerusalem
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Medical Oncology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium Department of Medical Oncology, CHU Sart-Tilman Liège, Liège, Belgium
C. Gilles
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, CHU Sart-Tilman Liège, Liège, Belgium
S. Adam
Affiliation:
Psychology of Aging Unit, University of Liège (B63C), Liège, Belgium
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Sarah Schroyen, Psychology of Aging Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Liège (ULg), Traverse des Architectes (B63c), 4000 LIÈGE, Belgium, BE. Phone: +32 4 366.97.45; Secretary: +32 4 366.20.81; Fax: +32 4 366.34.01. Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Although the incidence of cancer increases with age, elderly patients are often excluded from clinical trials. In addition, elderly patients are frequently undertreated in comparison to younger patients. One explanation for these observations is age stigma (i.e. ageism). In this context, this study has two objectives: (1) to replicate the results of previous studies that reported differential support of medical treatment depending on the patient's age in a different healthcare provider population (nurses rather than physicians); and (2) to determine whether support for expensive immunotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, or breast reconstruction is linked to ageism among nurses.

Method:

The participants were 76 nurses who specialized in oncology. They received four clinical vignettes: one vignette about an immunotherapy with a high societal cost (age of patient: 40 vs. 70 years), and three vignettes about adjuvant chemotherapy and breast reconstruction (age of patient: 35, 55, or 75 years – age was the only difference). A questionnaire and a fluency task were used to assess the participants’ vision of aging.

Results:

Our analyses show that support for immunotherapy, breast reconstruction, and chemotherapy is lower for older patients than for younger patients. Moreover, nurses’ vision of aging influences support for breast reconstruction: nurses with a negative view of age discriminated more between a 75-year-old patient and a 35-year-old patient (less encouragement for the older patient).

Conclusion:

These results highlight the need for nurses and other healthcare providers to receive specific training about ageism and its consequences.

Keywords

agingcancernursingstigma
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 28 , Issue 5 , May 2016 , pp. 749 - 757
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Balducci, L. (2006). Management of cancer in the elderly. Oncology, 20, 1–16.Google ScholarPubMed
Bergman, Y. S. and Bodner, E. (2015). Ageist attitudes block young adults’ ability for compassion toward incapacitated older adults. International Psychogeriatrics, 9, 1541–1550. doi:10.1017/S1041610215000198.Google Scholar
Bodner, E., Bergman, Y. S. and Cohen-Fridel, S. (2012). Different dimensions of ageist attitudes among men and women: a multigenerational perspective. International Psychogeriatrics, 24, 895–901. doi: 10.1017/S1041610211002936.Google Scholar
Boudjemad, V. and Gana, K. (2009). L’âgisme: adaptation française d’une mesure et test d’un modèle structural des effets de l’empathie, l’orientation à la dominance sociale et le dogmatisme sur l’âgisme. Canadian Journal of Aging, 28, 371–389. doi:10.1017/S071498080999016X.Google Scholar
Butler, R. N. (1969). Ageism: another form of bigotry. The Gerontologist, 9, 243–246. doi:10.1093/geront/9.4_Part_1.243.Google Scholar
Colussi, A. M. et al. (2001). The elderly cancer patient: a nursing perspective. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, 39, 235–245. doi:10.1016/S1040-8428(00)00116-5.Google Scholar
Engström, G. and Fagerberg, I. (2011). Attitudes towards older people among Swedish health care students and health care professionals working in elder care. Nursing Reports, 1, 2–6. doi:10.4081/nursrep.2011.e2.Google Scholar
Gaymard, S. (2006). The representation of old people: comparison between the professionals and students. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 19, 69–91.Google Scholar
Greenberg, J., Schimel, J. and Martens, A. (2002). Ageism: denying the face of the future. In Nelson, T. D. (ed.), Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons (pp. 27–48). Cambridge: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurria, A. et al. (2012). Senior adult oncology. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 10, 162–209.Google Scholar
Kearney, N., Miller, M., Paul, J. and Smith, K. (2000). Oncology healthcare professionals’ attitudes toward elderly people. Annals of Oncology, 11, 599–601.Google Scholar
Kwong See, S. T. and Nicoladis, E. (2010). Impact of contact on the development of children's positive stereotyping about aging language competence. Educational Gerontology, 36, 52–66. doi: 10.1080/03601270903018352.Google Scholar
Levy, B. (1996). Improving memory in old age through implicit self-stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1092–1107. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.71.6.1092.Google Scholar
Levy, B., Ashman, O. and Dror, I. (2000). To be or not to be the effects of aging stereotypes on the will to live. Omega, 40, 409–420. doi: 10.2190/Y2GE-BVYQ-NF0E-83VR.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, B., Slade, M. D. and Kasl, S. V. (2002a). Longitudinal benefit of positive self-perceptions of aging on functional health. The Journal of Gerontology, Series B., Pschological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57, 409–417. doi: 10.1093/geronb/57.5.P409.Google Scholar
Levy, B., Slade, M. D., Kunkel, S. R. and Kasl, S. V. (2002b). Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 261–270. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.83.2.261.Google Scholar
Levy, B., Slade, M. D., Murphy, T. E. and Gill, T. M. (2012). Association between positive age stereotypes and recovery from disability in older persons. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 308, 1972–1973. doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.14541.Google Scholar
Levy, B., Zonderman, A. B., Slade, M. D. and Ferrucci, L. (2009). Age stereotypes held earlier in life predict cardiovascular events in later life. Psychological Science, 20, 296–298. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02298.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Madan, A. K., Aliabadi-Whale, S. and Beech, D. J. (2001). Ageism in medical students’ treatment recommendations: the example of breast-conserving procedures. Academic Medicine, 76, 282–284.Google Scholar
Mandelblatt, J. S. et al. (2003). Predictors of long-term outcomes in older breast cancer survivors: perceptions versus patterns of care. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 21, 855–863.Google Scholar
Martens, A., Greenberg, J., Schimel, J. and Landau, M. J. (2004). Ageism and death: effects of mortality salience and perceived similarity to elders on reactions to elderly people. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1524–1536. doi: 10.1177/0146167204271185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murthy, V. H., Krumholz, H. M. and Gross, C. P. (2004). Participation in cancer clinical trials: race-, sex-, and age-based disparities. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 291, 2720–2726. doi: 10.1001/jama.291.22.2720.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nosek, B. A., Banaji, M. and Greenwald, A. G. (2002). Harvesting implicit group attitudes and beliefs from a demonstration web site. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, 6, 101–115. doi: 10.1037/1089-2699.6.1.101.Google Scholar
Protière, C., Viens, P., Rousseau, F. and Moatti, J.-P. (2010). Prescribers’ attitudes toward elderly breast cancer patients. Discrimination or empathy?. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, 75, 138–150. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2009.09.007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rogne, S. G. et al. (2009). Intracranial tumor surgery in patients >70 years of age: is clinical practice worthwhile or futile?. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 120, 288–294. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2009.01157.x.Google Scholar
Ryan, E. B. and Butler, R. N. (1996). Communication, aging, and health: towards understanding health providers relationships with older clients. Health Communication, 8, 191–197. doi: 10.1207/s15327027hc0803_1.Google Scholar
Smith, B. D., Smith, G. L., Hurria, A., Hortobagyi, G. N. and Buchholz, T. A. (2009). Future of cancer incidence in the United States: burdens upon an aging, changing nation. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 27, 2758–2765. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2008.20.8983/.Google Scholar
Statistics Belgium. (2013). Les professions en Belgique [Online].Google Scholar
Thompson, A., Cone, R., Gao, H., Hammond, E., Fraser, D. and Back, M. F. (2012). Is advanced age a barrier to effective cancer treatment? The experience of nonagenarians receiving radiation therapy. Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, 8, 255–259. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-7563.2011.01497.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, N. and Thompson, S. (2001). Empowering older people: beyond the care model. Journal of Social Work, 1, 61–76. doi: 10.1177/146801730100100105.Google Scholar
TNS Opinion and Social. (2012). Discrimination in the EU in 2012. Brussels: European Commission.Google Scholar
Williams, K., Kemper, S. and Hummert, M. L. (2003). Improving nursing home communication: an intervention to reduce elderspeak. The Gerontologist, 43, 242–247. doi: 10.1093/geront/43.2.242.Google Scholar
Yeom, H. E. and Heidrich, S. M. (2009). Effect of perceived barriers to symptom management on quality of life in older breast cancer survivors. Cancer Nursing, 32, 309–316. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0b013e31819e239e.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yu, C.-Y. and Chen, K.-M. (2012). Experiencing simulated aging improves knowledge of and attitudes towards aging. Journal of American Geriatric Society, 60, 957–961. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.03950.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed