How Unclear Communication Creates Inequities for Older Adults: A Call to Address Systemic Ageism in Health Care
Track: Organizational Systems And Policies
Earn 1 CE Credit (Expires May 2024)
Learning Objectives
1. Describe how health literacy, clear communication practices, and age intersect to produce health care inequities for older adults.
2. Provide examples of how commonly observed health communication practices contribute to systemic ageism.
3. Discuss a variety of practical policy interventions at the individual organization or healthcare system level, which can mitigate systemic ageism in health communication.
Presenter(s)
Cliff Coleman, MD, MPH, Associate Professor - Oregon Health & Science University
Session summary: Systemic ageism occurs when a policy or practice that is the same for everyone has an unfair effect on a person because of their age. Adults 65 and older have the highest burden of chronic disease and highest utilization of health services, but lowest average health literacy skills of any age group. This presentation highlights how the failure of the U.S. health care system to adopt and incentivize widescale universal precautions for clear communication disproportionately affects older adults, and presents a call to action for addressing systemic ageism in through improved health communication.
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