Assessment of Manifestations of Agism Among Medical University Student

Abstract

Ageism is a type of age discrimination among the elderly population. The article presents the results of a study of the manifestations of ageism among 1st and 4th year students of the medical faculty of the Educational Institution "Belarusian State Medical University". It is shown that students recognize the problem of age discrimination among the elderly in society. The index of the urgency of the problem of ageism for medical students was 42.1. Among the fourth-year students, in comparison with the first-year students, there are fewer respondents who are optimistic about their own old age, but there are more of those who are able to actively avoid old age. The prevalence of gerontological stereotypes among medical students is high. Stereotypes change in the learning process of the respondents, but they do not disappear. The respondents believe that the most important reasons for the emergence of ageism are not only gerontological stereotypes, but also the unwillingness to communicate with the elderly because of their own fear of old age or the psychological difficulty of communicating with the elderly. Medical students treat the elderly well and characterize them with positive epithets. The tendency of students of a medical university to unintentional ageism was revealed.