Introduction: Ageism is a serious international concern that negatively affects older people. But most people in society do not have enough information about this concept and the overcoming strategies for it. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the concept of ageism and overcoming strategies for it in the elderly. Methods: This narrative review study focuses on ageism studies and overcoming strategies of it in the elderly. To access articles, a comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases from 2001 to 2022. The search was conducted in Persian and English. The keywords used for the search were Age discrimination, elderly, older adult, ageism, and overcoming strategies. After reviewing the titles and abstracts of the articles, articles that met the inclusion criteria were selected. The result of the primary search was 40 articles, then based on the inclusion criteria, 27 articles were included in this study. Results: Ageism is carried out in two ways, individually, by individuals, and institutionally by the policy or organizational structure of an institution. Age discrimination has two aspects, explicit and implicit; explicit or conscious ageism is the discrimination and hatred of older people that is reflected through immediate behavior and action. Age discrimination can be corrected through intergenerational programs, intergenerational service learning, education about aging, positive contact with older adults, and other appropriate interventions. Conclusion: The concept of ageism is a multidimensional structure. It has three cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions and is divided into two types, individual and organizational. Ageism also has two explicit and implicit aspects. Based on this, it has relational, dynamic, and social aspects. Therefore, informing society about this concept seems necessary. On the other hand, interventions can be done to reduce age discrimination in various area, therefore, it is suggested those interventions will be implemented by gerontologists to reduce discriminatory behaviors toward the older adults.
Saadabadi F, Daneshfar M, Ajamzibad H. Ageism and overcoming strategies: a narrative review. joge 2023; 7 (4) :1-11 URL: http://joge.ir/article-1-617-en.html