Multiple AARP Research surveys have reported that older adults experience ageism in health care. One survey noted that nearly six in 10 older adults (58%) say age discrimination happens “some of the time,” while another found that nearly one in four older adults say their (or a family member’s) medical concerns have been “minimized, ignored, or dismissed during care.”

Given the rapidly growing population of adults 50 and older who will require increasing levels of health care in the years ahead, it is now more important than ever to remove ageism from the equation. Fortunately, initiatives are already taking hold, and tools in use are helping to change traditional approaches to health care, not only for older adults but for everyone. They all start with the recognition that a clinician and all health professionals must understand what matters to the patient, as described in the first blog in this series on shared decision-making.