Challenging Gerontophobia and Ageism Through a Collaborative Intergenerational Art Program

Abstract

Prejudices against older adults have been shown to reduce effective care delivery and impact long-term health outcomes for older adults. In an effort to combat these prejudices, intergenerational—and often unidirectional—programs focus on challenging ageism. The PALETTE program takes this further to employ collaborative activities as a way to challenge the gerontophobia that often accompanies ageism. Promoting Art for Life Enrichment Through Transgenerational Engagement (PALETTE) is an innovative program for interprofessional undergraduate and graduate students that combines intergenerational arts activities with formal education on aging, ageism, and gerontophobia. Having demonstrated success in changing the attitudes of students, PALETTE serves as a model for an internationally replicable program that has the potential to improve person-centered care while educating future generations of older adults about positive, optimal aging.

KEYWORDS:

• ageism
• art engagement
• gerontophobia
• health professions
• interprofessional education
• nursing
• pharmacy

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Geriatric Training and Education (GTE) initiative of the Virginia General Assembly [grant number 08-5].