Pandemic: Valuing the contributions of older Adults
Discussion Topics:
Valuing the Contributions of Older Adults
National Seniors Day* and Every Day
*[August 21st in USA & October 1st in Canada]
(Source: PSS September 2020 Newsletter
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/PSS-Monthly Newsletter.html?soid=1132662552412&aid=iOEpUlNYC9E
See below for link to the whole article by Dr. Sally Chivers]
In an article entitled "How We Rely On Older Adults Especially During the Coronavirus Crisis", Professor Sally Chivers, who teaches about aging in the media at Canada's Trent University, asks whether ageist language has affected how older adults have been portrayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She points out that older adults have much to offer society in these difficult times. Many have come out of retirement to serve as essential workers, use their skills and expertise to teach Zoom classes and create masks, and reach out to support neighbors.
"Pandemic messaging fails to show nuances of aging," says Chivers. "Negative stories about nursing homes ...take attention away from older adults who are living at home and making do, and public health warnings to check on older adults ignore what they can offer society at large." Treating older adults as a homogeneous, needy demographic "ignores how we collectively and individually possess considerable expertise. It misses our potential to offer at least mutual support for younger people..." who have had their social lives disrupted, have suffered job and health insurance loss or are more likely to be essential services workers. Indeed, PBS reports that studies are already showing that older adults may experience less pandemic-related stress than younger people.
Read full article here.
Or for the original source see: