THE LONGEVITY PROJECT PRESENTS    WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2023  

VOLUME 46

1. A LITTLE BIT OF LEARNING CAN GO A LONG WAY.

There can be little doubt that we live in an era of ageism. The World Health Organization’s 2021 Global Report on Ageism found that one in two people worldwide are ageist, and called ageism “prevalent, ubiquitous, and insidious.” The National Poll on Healthy Aging from the University of Michigan reported that 80% of people over 50 had experienced ageism, and AARP revealed that 91% of older workers describe ageism as common in the American workplace. We could go on.

You might think that solving such a widespread problem would be near impossible, but happily, emerging evidence suggests that a little bit of learning can go a long way to reducing the ills of ageism. Take for instance a new study from the Australian Human Rights Commission. In the AHRC study, participants joined a 2.5 hour workshop on ageism, and responded to three surveys: one directly before the workshop, one directly after, and one follow-up survey three months later. After just the one workshop—during which they addressed things like age beliefs and common assumptions about aging and older adults—90% of participants reported rethinking the way they communicate with older adults, another 87% had discussed ageism with others, 86% actively considered actions they could initiate to address ageist attitudes in their workplace and 82% reconsidered their attitudes towards aging. The Australian survey is not unique: one Colorado-based program called Changing the Narrative reports comparable successes: 94% of participants in a similar program saying that they had increased their knowledge of ageism, that they felt better equipped to identify and address ageism (95%) and intended to use what they had learned (92%). 

Let’s be a little skeptical about the long term impact of such one-off training sessions. The numbers are small, the time frames are short, and the participants self-selected. But we also believe that ageism—while widespread—has soft roots, and getting people to challenge their own assumptions about aging can have real impact, as these new studies suggest.

2. A LITTLE BIT OF SUPPORT CAN GO A LONG WAY.

If nothing else, the pandemic taught us much about the value of family caregivers in America and the critical role they play in supporting family, friends and neighbors.  Family caregivers provide some $600 billion in unpaid care services, according to AARP, but increasingly face emotional, economic and physical costs in providing these critical services.

Family caregivers take on a huge range of support activities—sometimes including critical care and often challenging functions such as managing medications, overseeing the use of medical equipment, and assisting with such daily activities such as toileting and dressing. Yet only about 7% report receiving any kind of formal training for tasks that can include operating feeding tubes and administering medication. For the other 93%, they have to rely mainly on the Internet, according to one 2018 study, which is just fine if you want to learn how to bounce a roll, how to fake play a piano, or learn how to walk like a ninja, but perhaps not so great if you have life or death responsibilities for a loved one. 

It’s only a step, but now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are proposing for the first time to fund healthcare professionals to train family caregivers. The new rule would authorize payments to train caregivers who provide critical healthcare support. The proposed rule is open for public comment, which you can submit at their site here. It’s great and well overdue, and now we can use the Internet for what it was intended to do: teaching us how to make great sofa forts and how to shake ankles.

3. A LITTLE BIT OF STORYTELLING CAN GO A LONG WAY.

Whoever held the record for the world’s oldest memoirists, congratulations but there is a new title holder as of yesterday. It’s 109 year-old Viola Fletcher, and what a story she has to tell. Fletcher is the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre: a two-day rampage that destroyed Greenwood, a thriving Black neighborhood that was popularly known as Black Wall Street. She was just 7 at the time of the attack, but can still recount the violence that took place in her recently released memoir, Don't Let Them Bury My Story. The book details the riots, the violence and the fallout, which shaped her life and her community.

Even more than a century on, the riots continue to define Fletcher’s life. She postponed her 109th birthday celebrations to appear in court seeking reparations for the damages inflicted over a century ago. In July, however, the case was dismissed, signaling an end to the decades-long battle for justice. 

After the court ruling, Fletcher issued a statement: ​​“I will not be dismissed. Our stories, our pain and our demand for justice cannot be erased or ignored. The dismissal of this case sends a chilling message that the crimes committed against our communities can be swept under the rug. Forgotten. Buried. But we will not allow that to happen. We will continue to fight for truth, for justice, and for the acknowledgment of our suffering. They will not bury my story.” 

Don’t Let Them Bury My Story was released yesterday, August 15th. Learn more about Fletcher’s experiences and testimony here.

Which Not-So-Bad Thing surprised you the most? Let us know by sharing below!

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