Examining nursing practice with older adults through a historical lens.
Scholars have suggested that negative views toward older individuals are prevalent in Western society and that health care practices with older adults are influenced by these beliefs. In this article, a historical lens is used to examine health practices and social ideas about aging to provide a clearer understanding of the current challenges to nursing practice with an aging population. Parallels between nursing practices of the past and present are discussed. It is suggested that negative beliefs about older adults are related to social ideas that originated in antiquity and yet continue to influence social institutions and practices with an older population.
School of Nursing., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Britist Columbia, Canada. sherrydahlkee@shaw.ca
Sherry
S
Dahlke
D000368:Aged; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans