[Age discrimination. Point of view of the professionals].
BACKGROUND
It is generally believed that legislation is an essential resource in the prevention of discriminatory behaviour against older people. This study first examines the Spanish legislation for potential age discrimination and then uses the C-EVE-D questionnaire to ask professionals in social work and health care settings the extent to what certain ageist behaviours described in the questionnaire are observed in practice.


METHODS
The field study was carried out with professionals in geriatrics and gerontology, who are members of Spanish Society for Geriatrics and Gerontology (SEGG). The EVE discrimination questionnaire consists of 28 items which investigate the existence of age discrimination in medical and social care contexts.


RESULTS
A total of 174 people (63% women; mean age: 45.6 years) took part in the study, with a mean professional experience of 17.2 years. Doctors made up 59% of the sample, psychologists 19%, with the rest coming from other professions. The first 20 discrimination items of the EVE-D questionnaire were significantly positively reported by more than 60% of the sample.


CONCLUSIONS
Although Spanish legislation, from the constitution down to the rules that govern social and health care settings, clearly prohibits any kind of discrimination with regard to age, our results show that Spanish professionals most closely involved in the care of older people perceive both direct and indirect age discrimination. Furthermore, evidence was found of prejudice in the treatment of older people as a phenomenon in day-to-day health and social services care, both when analysing medical cases and, to a greater extent, cases of a more general nature and/or relating to co-existence.
Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, España. Electronic address: jribera.hcsc@salud.madrid.org.
Jose Manuel
JM
Ribera Casado
Departamento de Psicología Social, UNED, Madrid, España.
Antonio
A
Bustillos
Facultad de Derecho, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España.
Ana Ilenia
AI
Guerra Vaquero
Departamento de Psicología Social, UNED, Madrid, España.
Carmen
C
Huici Casal
Departamento Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España.
Rocío
R
Fernández-Ballesteros
D000368:Aged; D063506:Ageism; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012947:Social Work; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Ageism; Discriminación; Discrimination; Edaísmo/viejismo; Elderly; Geriatras; Geriatricians; Gerontologists; Gerontólogos; Persona mayor