Physicians’ attitudes toward aging, the aged, and the provision of geriatric care: a systematic narrative review

Abstract

As the number of older adults in the population increases, the rate of medical care use is expected to rise. As a result, geriatricians and gerontologists are researching predictors of medical care in later life, which includes ageism. Ageism within health care has been widely and frequently reported and it is thought to be a product of negative attitudes toward aging. The current review systematically explores the existing literature in this area and establishes seven themes within the research. From a predominantly American population of papers, themes that emerged were the following: physicians’ attitudes toward aging are complex and mixed; mixed associations among attitude, knowledge, and medical care; aging and disease symptom attributions among physicians; attitudes, knowledge, and exposure to older adults; the role of role models; the influence of the health care culture; and the influence of the health care system. These themes were considered separately and in tandem in order to explore avenues for future research that will clarify the influence that these psychosocial factors have on health care provided to older adults.

Keywords:

• physicians
• residents
• aging
• attitudes
• knowledge
• attributions
• health care

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC #752-2009-2047). The sponsor had no role in any aspect of the preparation of this article. The author thanks Alana M. Harrington (York University) and Lauren M. Cripps (University of Toronto) for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of this article.