| Course | GHA 548 Foundations of Gerontology for Health Administrators (GHA/548) |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Myths of aging paper |
| Length | about 1,161 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | MHA |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for GHA 548 Week 2
Five Things Our Staff Believe About Older Patients, Tested Against the Evidence: A Health System's Look at Myths of Aging and What Ageism Costs
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
GHA/548: Foundations of Gerontology for Health Administrators
Week 2 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The health system, staff survey and examples are composites written for a model paper; research findings and national data come from the sources listed.
Before planning training, the director of senior services at a composite four-hospital health system asked all staff to complete a short anonymous survey on beliefs about aging. Of 312 respondents, including nurses, therapists, schedulers and managers, 58% agreed that most people who live long enough end up in a nursing home, 47% that dementia is a normal part of aging, 41% that older people are generally unhappy, 63% that older patients cannot use the patient portal and 72% that a patient's attitudes about age have little effect on health. This paper tests those five beliefs against evidence and explains what the findings mean for the system.
Where Myths Come From
Stereotypes about aging begin early. Children absorb images of older people from family, media and advertising long before they are old themselves, and the images are often of frailty, confusion and loneliness. Health care workers see a skewed sample: the older people they meet are those who are sick. It is no surprise that staff who care for hospitalized 85-year-olds come to think of illness as typical of old age.
Myth One: Most Older People End Up in Nursing Homes
In 2020, every formal provider of long-term and after-hospital care in the country combined, about 68,150 nursing homes, residential care communities, home health agencies, hospices and adult day centers, served roughly 7.3 million people, many of them for short periods (Lendon et al., 2024). The population aged 65 and older was more than seven times larger. Most older adults live in their own homes, and even among those who need help, most receive it from family at home. Nursing homes matter, but they are not where most older people live.
Myth Two: Dementia Is a Normal Part of Aging
A national study using detailed cognitive assessments of 3,496 adults found that about 10% of Americans aged 65 and older had dementia in 2016 and 22% had mild cognitive impairment (Manly et al., 2022). The risk of dementia roughly doubled with every five years of age, and each additional year of education was associated with lower risk. Dementia is a disease, not a normal stage of life; treating memory complaints as normal delays diagnosis and support.
Myth Three: Older People Are Unhappy
Research following adults over ten years, with repeated reports of emotion several times a day, found that emotional well-being improved with age, becoming more positive and more stable into later life, before leveling off in very old age (Carstensen et al., 2011). This does not mean older adults never face loss or depression; it means sadness is not a normal feature of aging and should be treated when it appears.
Myth Four: Older Patients Cannot Use Technology
By 2021, 61% of Americans aged 65 and older owned a smartphone, 75% used the internet and 64% had home broadband, all much higher than a decade earlier (Faverio, 2022). The system's own portal data showed that 44% of patients aged 65 to 74 had active accounts, compared with 51% of all adults. The gap is real among the oldest patients and those with low income, but it reflects access and design as much as ability.
Myth Five: Attitudes About Age Do Not Affect Health
This is the most consequential myth. An Ohio community study asked residents aged 50 and over how they viewed their own aging, then followed their survival for more than two decades. Those whose answers were more positive survived a median of 7.5 years beyond peers who held bleaker views, and the gap remained once the authors took account of age, sex, socioeconomic status, loneliness and how well participants functioned (Levy et al., 2002). When reviewers pooled 422 studies spanning 45 nations, nearly every one, 95.5%, tied ageism to poorer physical or mental health (Chang et al., 2020). The stereotypes staff carry into a patient's room can become part of the patient's prognosis.
How Ageism Shows Up in Health Care
Ageism in care is often quiet: explaining a diagnosis to the adult child rather than the patient, assuming an older patient does not want surgery or rehabilitation, attributing new confusion to age rather than checking for delirium or infection or leaving older patients off portal enrollment. Each can lead to undertreatment or worse outcomes.
When Older Adults Believe the Myths Themselves
Stereotypes do not only shape how staff treat older patients; patients absorb them too. A 78-year-old who believes forgetfulness is simply part of getting old may not mention new memory problems. A patient who thinks exercise is pointless at her age may skip the physical therapy that would prevent her next fall. Clinicians can counter this by naming treatable causes, setting goals with patients rather than for them and describing what recovery looks like for people of the same age who did well. Because self-perceptions of aging were linked to survival in the study described above, conversations that challenge a patient's own low expectations are part of care, not small talk.
Ageism Toward Older Staff
The survey also revealed assumptions about older employees: 38% agreed that staff over 60 have trouble learning new systems. The system employs more than 1,400 people aged 55 and older, including many of its most experienced nurses. Treating them as unable to adapt risks losing them at a time when the workforce is already short. The director proposed including older staff as trainers in the next electronic record upgrade and offering flexible schedules and lifting equipment that help experienced nurses stay longer.
Avoiding the Opposite Myth
Correcting negative myths should not create a new one: that aging brings no losses. Chronic illness, hearing and vision loss and the death of friends and partners become more common with age. The goal is accuracy, recognizing both the resilience most older adults show and the needs some have.
What the System Will Change
The director proposed four changes. Training: a 45-minute module for all staff using the survey results and the evidence in this paper, followed by unit discussions. Language: removing elderly and similar terms from patient materials and policies. Clinical practice: a prompt in the admission workflow to check for delirium when an older patient has new confusion. Technology: portal enrollment help at discharge for patients 65 and older, with large-print instructions and a family proxy option.
Measuring Change
The survey will be repeated after one year. The system will also track portal enrollment among patients 65 and older and delirium screening rates as signs that practice, not only attitudes, has changed.
Conclusion
Staff beliefs about aging were often wrong. Most older adults do not live in nursing homes, dementia affects a minority, emotional well-being often improves with age and most older adults use technology. Most importantly, evidence shows that attitudes toward aging affect health. The system's changes aim to replace myths with evidence in training, language, clinical practice and technology.
References
Carstensen, L. L., Turan, B., Scheibe, S., Ram, N., Ersner-Hershfield, H., Samanez-Larkin, G. R., Brooks, K. P., & Nesselroade, J. R. (2011). Emotional experience improves with age: Evidence based on over 10 years of experience sampling. Psychology and Aging, 26(1), 21-33. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021285
Chang, E.-S., Kannoth, S., Levy, S., Wang, S.-Y., Lee, J. E., & Levy, B. R. (2020). Global reach of ageism on older persons' health: A systematic review. PLOS ONE, 15(1), e0220857. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220857
Faverio, M. (2022, January 13). Share of those 65 and older who are tech users has grown in the past decade. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/01/13/share-of-those-65-and-older-who-are-tech-users-has-grown-in-the-past-decade/
Lendon, J. P., Caffrey, C., Melekin, A., Singh, P., Lu, Z., & Sengupta, M. (2024). Overview of post-acute and long-term care providers and services users in the United States, 2020 (National Health Statistics Reports No. 208). National Center for Health Statistics. https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc/158328
Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Kunkel, S. R., & Kasl, S. V. (2002). Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(2), 261-270. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.2.261
Manly, J. J., Jones, R. N., Langa, K. M., Ryan, L. H., Levine, D. A., McCammon, R., Heeringa, S. G., & Weir, D. (2022). Estimating the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the US: The 2016 Health and Retirement Study Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Project. JAMA Neurology, 79(12), 1242-1249. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3543
What the GHA 548 Week 2 instructions ask
GHA 548 Week 2 usually asks students to examine myths and stereotypes about aging and older adults. Students may be asked to identify common myths, compare them with research and data, explain where stereotypes come from, describe how ageism affects older adults' health and care and suggest how organizations can reduce it. Some versions are team assignments or ask students to reflect on their own assumptions. Strong papers state each myth precisely, correct it with current, credible evidence, avoid replacing a negative stereotype with an unrealistic positive one, explain the health effects of ageism with research and propose specific changes in a real or composite organization.
How this GHA 548 Week 2 example is built
The paper opens with an anonymous survey of 312 staff members, many of whom agreed with statements such as dementia is a normal part of getting old. Five myths are then tested. National data show that the formal long-term care system served about 7.3 million people in 2020, a small fraction of older adults. A national study found dementia in 10% of adults 65 and older. Experience-sampling research found emotional well-being improves with age. By 2021, 61% of adults 65 and older owned smartphones. Research linking self-perceptions of aging to survival and a review of 422 studies show that ageism harms health. Organizational changes in training, forms and portal outreach, with a repeat survey to measure them, close the paper.
GHA 548 Week 2 grading rubric: where the points go
Grading in this week tends to reward accurate myth correction and a clear account of why stereotypes matter. Instructors look for myths stated precisely, current and credible evidence for each correction, recognition of real variation among older adults, discussion of ageism's effects on health and health care and specific organizational responses. Research on self-perceptions of aging and systematic reviews of ageism strengthen the analysis. Balance earns credit: replacing negative myths with claims that aging brings no losses is also inaccurate. Clear headings, a professional tone and APA format account for the remainder. Papers that list myths without evidence, or evidence without organizational implications, usually receive fewer points.
GHA 548 Week 2 help: mistakes to avoid
A common problem in GHA 548 Week 2 is correcting myths with opinion rather than evidence. For each myth, find national data or a study and state the year. Be precise: dementia is not a normal part of aging, but its risk rises steeply with age. Avoid swinging to the opposite extreme; many older adults do face losses in health, income and relationships. Explain how stereotypes affect health, including through self-perceptions, and how they affect care, such as undertreatment. Include ageism within health care itself. Finally, propose specific changes: training, language in documents, design of services and technology outreach, and say how you would measure whether attitudes change.
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GHA 548 Week 2 questions, answered
What does GHA/548 Week 2 usually ask for?
Many sections ask students to identify myths and stereotypes about aging, correct them with evidence and explain how ageism affects older adults' health and health care.
Where can I find a free GHA 548 Week 2 sample paper?
Every section of the five myths paper is posted above for free, and margin comments explain each correction. For a paper built on your own organization or team, the first one is written for you free.
Is dementia a normal part of aging?
No. A national study found dementia in about 10% of adults 65 and older in 2016, although the risk roughly doubled with each five-year increase in age.
Does ageism affect health?
Yes. A review of 422 studies spanning 45 nations tied ageism to poorer health in 95.5% of them.
Do older adults use technology?
Most do. By 2021, 61% of Americans 65 and older owned a smartphone and 75% used the internet, up sharply from a decade earlier.
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