Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario KIN6N5, Canada.
Department of Communication, Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa, Desmarais Building, Ottawa, Ontario KIN6N5, Canada.
Age Ageing. 2020 Aug 24;49(5):692-695. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa097.
The goal of this commentary is to highlight the ageism that has emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 20 international researchers in the field of ageing have contributed to this document. This commentary discusses how older people are misrepresented and undervalued in the current public discourse surrounding the pandemic. It points to issues in documenting the deaths of older adults, the lack of preparation for such a crisis in long-term care homes, how some 'protective' policies can be considered patronising and how the initial perception of the public was that the virus was really an older adult problem. This commentary also calls attention to important intergenerational solidarity that has occurred during this crisis to ensure support and social-inclusion of older adults, even at a distance. Our hope is that with this commentary we can contribute to the discourse on older adults during this pandemic and diminish the ageist attitudes that have circulated.
本文旨在强调在 COVID-19 大流行期间出现的年龄歧视。该评论文章由 20 多位老龄化领域的国际研究人员共同撰写。本文讨论了在当前围绕大流行的公共话语中，老年人是如何被误解和低估的。文中提到了在记录老年人死亡方面存在的问题，在长期护理院中应对此类危机准备不足的问题，某些“保护性”政策可能被视为轻视的问题，以及最初公众认为该病毒确实是老年人的问题。本文还提请注意在这场危机中发生的重要代际团结，以确保即使在远距离的情况下，也能为老年人提供支持和社会包容。我们希望通过本文能够为大流行期间有关老年人的讨论做出贡献，并减少在此期间流传的年龄歧视态度。
