Leader: Elena Allegri (UPO); Other collaborator(s): Eugenia Mercuri, Cristina Calvi (UNIUPO), UNISR, UNIBA
An empirical analysis of the forms of discrimination based on prejudices about age is needed as well as of the cultural stereotypes grounding ageism, with attention also to gender differences. The task will be articulate in a study of oppressive and anti-oppressive practices that are found present in relevant professions (doctors, psychologists, social workers, nurses) in the health and social services devoted to senior citizens and possibly including the views of some senior service users. Such a study will be carried out by means of interviews, focus groups and by documents analysis.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results
During the period November 2023- March 2024 the group has completed the case study selection. This has been possible first with the help of further meetings with key informants in different local territories (Alessandria, Brescia, Carpi, Cremona, Parma, Torino), which allowed to define the main criteria for case selection. Second, by means of three focus groups held in January 2024 (one with doctors, one with nurses, one with social workers), which helped to narrow down the professionals to be involved in the study, and to identify key themes to be further developed in the interviews. The sampling plan and the definitive interview schedules for all populations of interest involved (doctors, nurses, social workers, older patients, and caregivers) have been defined, and the group has begun taking contact with institutional gatekeepers in the three cities where the study will take place, Alessandria, Brescia and Parma, in order to begin collecting interviews as soon as possible. The group has submitted abstracts to three different scientific conferences (Age-It national conference in Venice, 20-22 May; ESHMS conference in Anversa, 3-6 July; ESA conference in Porto, 27-30 August) which were all accepted for oral presentations. All members of the Task 1.4 group have participated, on February 27th, in a formation in the qualitative analysis software NVivo, which will be used for data analysis. Furthermore, an Advisory Board has been summoned with key members of the professional orders of doctors, nurses and social workers and of one of the biggest advocacy associations for older persons in Italy. Lastly, the group is organizing a workshop that will take place on June 27th in Alessandria (DIGSPES), involving key speeches by prominent scholars in the field of study of health and social professions, and a round table with the Advisory Board.
Main policy, industrial and scientific implications
The activities completed so far are beginning to shape policy (and potentially practice) implications insofar as the constitution of an Advisory Board will allow the group to, on the one hand, collect the professional Orders’ and the advocacy associations’ point of view on ageism in healthcare and social services; on the other, to create a privileged channel of discussion and communication of the suggestions for improving professional practices - in terms of reducing ageism - that will emerge from the research project.
We have collected interviews with social workers and with general practitioners in Alessandria, Brescia and Parma (total: 19 interviews). We have obtained permission from the territorial ethical committee of Novara (for Alessandria, effective for Brescia as well) to collect interviews in the hospital of Alessandria with doctors, nurses, patients and caregivers. We are currently organizing a kick-off meeting with the local coordinator in the hospital of Alessandria, and we are waiting for the internal authorization process to be completed in Brescia. We have submitted all the requested documentation to the territorial ethical committee of Area Vasta Emilia Nord (for Parma) to obtain permission to collect interviews in the hospital of Parma; the territorial ethical committee will evaluate our proposal on October 8.
Fieldwork: 1)we have collected interviews with hospital social workers, medical specialists (geriatricians and cardiologists), nurses, patients and caregivers at the hospital of Alessandria (total: 28 interviews), completing data collection on that field. 2)We have obtained permission from the territorial ethical committee Area Vasta Emilia Nord (for Parma) to collect interviews at the hospital of Parma and we have entered the field: data collection has started on January 20. Presentations: the task group was invited to the seminar «La solitudine degli anziani: emergenza socio-sanitaria» organized by the hospital of Parma on November 22, 2024; Cristina Calvi and Francesca Zaltron presented the contribution «La solitudine nelle traiettorie di invecchiamento: una lettura sociologica». Publications: the group is editing a special issue of the Italian scientific journal (classe A) Salute e Società «Processi di invecchiamento e ageismo nei servizi socio-sanitari: attori, trame organizzative e pratiche professionali» (n.1/2026)