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New Report Details Discrimination of Older Adults in
United States
International Longevity Center Publishes Report Cards
on Ageism
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Dec. 19, 2005 - Ageism, or discriminating against
people purely on the basis of their chronological age, is deeply
embedded and widespread in American society says the International
Longevity Center-USA (ILC-USA). In a new "ground-breaking report,"
Ageism in America, the ILC-USA documents the innate prejudices held
against older Americans.
As a preview to the completed report, to be issued
in February 2006, the ILC-USA has released seven report cards
highlighting several categories in which age discrimination is
strikingly evident in the United States. The ILC-USA prepared this
report for White House Conference on Aging, "in the hopes to bring
attention to the extent in which ageism exists in America."
"As we age, we crave the same respect and
consideration that we garnered in our adult years," says Dr. Robert N.
Butler. "We must work together-as a society-to promote positive
attitudes and portrayals of older people. We must not fail to respect
and protect the rights of older people."
Dr. Butler, president and CEO of the ILC-USA, first
coined the term “ageism” in 1968 when he was chairman of the Washington
D.C. Advisory Committee on Aging.
The report cards in Ageism in America:
Elder Abuse
●
1 million to 3 million Americans 65+ have been injured, exploited or
otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depend for care or
protection.
●
Estimates of the frequency of elder abuse range from 2 percent to 10
percent.
●
Only 1 out of 14 incidents of elder abuse, excluding incidents of
self-neglect, come to the attention of authorities.
●
Only 21 percent of states (38.%) report that they maintain an abuse
registry/ database.
●
Only 4 percent of financial elder abuse cases are reported. Many of
these cases involve scams by unscrupulous salesmen and marketers. It is
estimated that each year 5 million older Americans are victims.
●
It is estimated that for every one case of elder abuse, neglect,
exploitation, or self-neglect reported to authorities, about five more
go unreported.
●
Of the total $1 billion NIA budget, only $1 million goes to NIA Elder
Abuse and Neglect Research Funding.
●
An early look at the President’s FY 2006 budget shows a freeze in
funding levels for some of the major existing programs that provide
funding for elder abuse prevention and adult protective services.
Healthcare Discrimination
●
Patients over 65 typically get less aggressive treatment for cancer than
younger patients.
●
35 percent of doctors erroneously consider an increase in blood pressure
a normal process of aging, according to a survey published in the
Journals of Gerontology.
●
60 percent of adults over 65 do not receive recommended preventive
services, including screening for common cancers, and 40 percent do not
receive vaccines for flu and pneumonia. They receive even less
preventive care for high blood pressure and cholesterol.
●
Only 10 percent of people aged 65 and above receive the appropriate
screenings for bone mass, colorectal and prostate cancer and glaucoma.
●
Older Americans are the biggest users of prescription drugs, yet 40
percent of clinical trials between 1991 and 2000 excluded people over 75
from participating.
●
While 20 percent of the 65+ have mental illness, mental health care
focuses mainly on young people.
Discrimination in Nursing Homes
●
1. million women and men are housed in 17,000 nursing homes nationwide.
●
54 percent of nursing homes fall below minimum standards.
●
Only 0. percent of nursing homes nationwide are cited and penalized for
patterns of widespread problems that cause harm to residents.
●
9 out of 10 nursing homes are inadequately staffed.
●
It would take $7. billion a year, an 8 percent increase over current
spending, to reach adequate staffing levels.
●
Nursing homes need 77,000 – 137,000 registered nurses, 22,000 – 27,000
licensed practical nurses, and 181,000 – 310,000 nurse’s aides to reach
recommended staffing levels.
●
The Bush Administration (1990- ) has said that it wants to publish data
on the number of workers at each nursing home in the hope that “nurse
staffing levels may simply increase due to the market demand created by
an informed public.”
Discrimination in Emergency Services
●
60 percent of victims identified from Hurricane Katrina were age 61 or
older.
●
More than 215 bodies out of 1,048 recovered statewide in Louisiana after
Hurricane Katrina were found in or around hospitals and nursing homes,
according to a state report.
●
Within 24 hours following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, animal advocates
were on the scene rescuing pets, yet abandoned older and disabled people
waited for up to seven days for an ad hoc medical team to rescue them.
●
Heat wave-related hyperthermia kills about 400 people each year in the
U.S.. About 80 percent of victims are over age 50. Of the 465
heat-related deaths in Chicago’s 1995 heat wave, 51 percent were 75
years old or older. The median age was 75 years, the mean age 72 years.
The median age of the 197 heat-related deaths during Milwaukee,
Wisconsin’s 1995 heat wave was 76 years. The socially isolated,
homebound, mentally or physically ill are also at higher risk of
weather-related hyperthermia. Emergency preparedness measures need to be
in place in the event of a heat wave.
Workplace Discrimination
●
The National General Social Survey and the Quality of Employment Survey
reports discrimination due to age increased from 6. percent to 8.
percent for workers overall, and from 11. percent to 16. percent for
workers 65 years and older from 1977-2002.
●
In 2004, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that
employers can deny health benefits to retirees at age 65 without
violating age discrimination laws.
●
Because age discrimination cases are hard to prove, only 1 in 7 EEOC age
cases are settled to the complainant’s benefit.
●
To improve job prospects, 63 percent of applicants say they would leave
dates off their resume to hide their age and 18 percent say they would
get plastic surgery.
●
About 10 percent of some 17,800 age-discrimination claims filed last
year with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission were related to
hiring.
●
State and local government workers are exempt from the federal Age
Discrimination in Employment Act.
●
The per-participant administrative costs of defined-contribution pension
plans (such as 401(k) plans) are as much as 14 times more for the
smallest firms than for their largest counterparts.
●
In 2004, 192 pension plans were terminated due to underfunding.
●
The amount of underfunding in corporate pension plans currently totals
$450 billion and the amount of underfunding in government pension plans
is $300 billion.
Discrimination in the Media
●
Less than 2% of primetime television characters are age 65 or older,
although this group comprises 12.% of the population.
●
Middle-aged and older white male writers have joined women and
minorities on the sidelines, as white men under 40 get most of the jobs
writing for Hollywood’s television and film industry. In both feature
film and television, older writers have seen their employment and
earnings prospects decline relative to the opportunities available to
younger writers.
●
Advertising-media activity is largely based on age.
●
Ageist Gender Inequality
●
11% of men characters on television between 50 and 64 are categorized as
“old”, versus 22% of women characters.
●
75% of male characters on television 65 and older are characterized as
“old”, versus 83% of women characters 65 and older.
●
Only one-third of older characters in prime time television are women.
●
According to one study, approximately 70 percent of older men and more
than 80 percent of older women seen on television are portrayed
disrespectfully, treated with little, if any, courtesy and often looked
at as “bad.”40
●
The Screen Actors Guild reported in 2003 that in the age bracket of 40
and older, 38 percent of men and 22 percent of women were given lead
roles on television. In supporting roles, 40 percent of men and 31
percent of women over 40 were given roles. Overall, only 27 percent of
women and 39 percent of men over 40 were given television roles.
●
Although Americans who are 40 and over comprise 42 percent of the
American population, more than twice as many roles are cast with actors
who are under the age of 40 than actors who are 40 or older.
Discrimination in Marketing
●
Marketing/advertising, even when directed to older persons, is not
sensitive to their vision and hearing limitations (small font, many
colors, little color contrast; on the phone, speaking too quickly,
etc.).
●
The “anti-aging” industry perpetuates a culture that views aging and the
aging process as negative and undesirable. The U.S. market for
anti-aging products and services in 2004 grew to $45. + billion. Growing
at an annual rate of 9.%, this market will reach nearly $72 billion by
2009.
●
An estimated $27 billion or more is spent on supplements and 60% of
these consumers are older Americans.
●
The dietary supplement industry is largely self-regulated; there are no
laws that require supplements to undergo pre-market approval for safety
and efficacy.
●
Manufacturers of supplements are not required to register with a
government agency.
●
Dietary supplements marketed as anti-aging therapies may pose a
potential for physical harm to older persons, especially to those with
underlying diseases or health conditions that make the use of the
product medically inadvisable or supplements that interact with
medications that are being taken concurrently.
●
Older men and women spend millions of dollars on unproven or poorly
manufactured products.
●
In an investigation into 20 of these types of companies, the FTC
estimated $1. million per each company in sales of unproven or poorly
manufactured products
●
FTC and FDA have educational materials to combat fraud, but enforcement
is lax.
●
FDA has not initiated any administrative rulemaking activities to remove
from the market certain substances that its analysis suggest pose health
risks, but has sought voluntary restrictions and attempted to warn
consumers.
●
In 2001, Advertising Age magazine concluded that of $8 billion spent in
television marketing, 55% targeted the 18-to-49 group. The remainder
went to children (under 18) and adults 25-to-54. Those 55+ were
excluded.
●
In the “appearance category” of the anti-aging industry target groups
start at individuals over 35 years old.
●
People 50+ control 50% of the total discretionary income in the United
States ($1.+ trillion), with 70% of all financial assets,49 but are
targeted by less than 10 percent of marketing messages.
●
According to a 1995 survey by American Demographics, the average
corporate advertising representative is thirty-one, and the average
advertising agency account executive is twenty-eight.
●
Scams involving Internet auctions, as well as identity theft, lotteries,
prizes and sweepstakes, top the list of fraud complaints by older
Americans, who lost $152 million to con artists in 2004, according to
U.S. officials at a Senate panel hearing.
●
The Federal Trade Commission reports that internet-based scams account
for about 41% of fraud complaints among people over 50. Other popular
scams involve criminals requesting bank account information in order to
verify and adjust Social Security and Medicare benefits.
About Source:
The International Longevity
Center-USA is a research policy organization in New York City and has
sister centers in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Led by Dr.
Robert N. Butler, a world renowned physician specializing in geriatrics,
the Center is a non-for-profit, non-partisan organization with a staff
of economists, medical and health researchers, demographers and others
who study the impact of population aging on society. The ILC-USA
focuses on combating ageism, healthy aging, productive engagement and
the financing of old age. The ILC-USA is an independent affiliate of
Mount Sinai School of Medicine and is incorporated as a tax-exempt
501(c)(3) entity. More information on the ILC-USA can be found at
www.ilcusa.org
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