Age as a characteristic of an individual is often taken for granted, yet, once viewed through the prism of a particular culture and philosophy, it becomes an important factor in managing health issues. The information about the notion of ageism, as well as the problems faced by elderly people and how it impacts their access to care, made me view the concept in a different light. The case of Aimee, a 79-year-old Korean widow, who has been struggling to receive proper healthcare assistance due to age-related constraints, has indicated that the problem of ageism has become a serious concern in modern society.
The change of attitude toward ageism and the challenges that aging people, especially those belonging to ethnic minorities, encounter when seeking healthcare services has demonstrated that the current approach toward the provision of healthcare assistance has changed. Specifically, the realization of the needs of elderly people and the problems that they face in accessing healthcare can be regarded as the key changes in the perception of the subject matter. The contemporary healthcare environment has been developing new tools for facilitating an open dialogue between patients from different backgrounds and nurses that provide health-related assistance and education for their target demographic.
Eliminating the language barrier by offering free consultations assisted by an interpreter should also be considered an important change to be made to the existing healthcare environment. The recent introduction of culture-specific approaches involving a profound understanding of a patient’s ethnic background and age-specific needs into modern global care, while being an important achievement, needs to be supported by other changes. Competency-related alterations to the existing framework of monitoring the health issues including the focus on providing consultations and building awareness about health risk factors should be seen as the next step.