Abstract Background and Objectives There is substantial literature documenting the pervasiveness and harmfulness of ageism to older adults and society. Anti-ageism interventions are being developed and evaluated. However, most interventions target younger people and service providers, not older adults themselves. In this study, we aim to build knowledge about how older people understand, experience and react to ageism with the goal of advancing anti-ageism interventions. Research Design and Methods We conducted nine focus groups with 58 people who were 60 years of age or older. Participants were 64% female, 64% Caucasian, and 33% African American. The modal age group was 75-79 years. A thematic content analysis was used to identify themes and representative quotes. Results Five themes emerged. Not all older people are familiar with the concept of ageism, and some report they have not experienced it. Once primed, most participants could identify experiences of interpersonal ageism in employment, health care, media, families, and community settings, like stores and restaurants. Internalized ageism was less familiar to participants. Reaction to these experiences depended on the circumstances, and reactions ranged from doing nothing to making complaints. Participants generated suggestions for potential interventions. Discussion and Implications Focus group participants recognized experiences of interpersonal ageism and had ideas about how to confront it. They had a harder time understanding and giving examples of internalized ageism. Increasing awareness and building skills to respond to interpersonal and internalized ageism emerged as a priority in intervention development. Innovation and Translational Significance Interventions to empower older adults themselves to address ageism in daily life are needed. Through focus groups with older people, we learned that older people experienced interpersonal ageism in employment, health care, the family, and community settings; and how they reacted to an ageist incident depended on the circumstances. The concept of internalized ageism was less familiar to focus group participants. We learned that increasing awareness and developing skills are necessary first steps for older adults to confront interpersonal and internalized ageism.
Morrow-Howell et al. (Mon,) studied this question.