Who is Part of a Vulnerable Population?
Vulnerable populations include the economically disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities, the uninsured, low-income children, the elderly, the homeless, those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and those with other chronic health conditions, including severe mental illness. The elderly is just one of many examples of a vulnerable population.
AgeismThe number of Americans aged 60 or older is growing, but they are often out of the spotlight in discussions about social injustices. Ageism occurs when there is a prejudice or discrimination based on the person's age; such as ignoring or not taking them seriously, believing they are not useful to have around, assuming that they are unable to hear well or remember much, only paying attention to them because they may have your name in their will, and so on.
This type of prejudice is unlike all others because it will affect everyone who lives beyond 60 years or so. There is a study done by Duke University's Erdman Palmore, PhD, who found that nearly 80% of the elderly people surveyed reported an experience of ageism. It was also found that elderly people often experience mental health problems and it gets worse when health professionals assume that they cannot change the patients' behavior or help them become better. These health problems often go untreated and unrecognized. What Should Be Done? |
Psychologists need to respond to ageism the same way they would to racism, ableism, and other forms of "-ism". There are some groups such as American Psychological Association (APA) working to combat ageism through funding, training and federal policies supporting geropsychologists. For example, one APA initiative--through the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) program--recently received $3 million for geropsychology training this year. The funding will be devoted exclusively to training geropsychologists in mental and behavioral-health services for older adults through APA-accredited programs.