The influence of ageism on mental health : literature review

Over the years, ageism has been an essential social issue and can equally be viewed from the structural as well as individual level. At the structural level, society encourages hate for older persons while at the individual level, people have negative beliefs on other people based on culture. This thesis aims to demonstrate the main effects of ageism on elderly people’s mental health. Based on the key findings, nurses can empathize and adjust their behaviours to deliver comprehensive healthcare treatments to old people. A literature review was a prime method to research both theoretical framework and empirical part in this thesis. With this measure, the critical secondary data and information about the effects of ageism on mental health and plausible solutions of nurses to support the aging population from various credible existing publications and scientific articles were reviewed, collected, consolidated, and summarized. Then, a qualitative research method, particularly a content analysis, was mainly used to analyse these theoretical data. The final main results demonstrated how significantly older people's mental health was damaged and broadened nurses' career horizons. The key findings of this thesis are relatively important to witness the anguish of old people when they confront ageism and indicate the important roles of nurses to assist the elderly to provide them with the necessary care to overcome mental health challenges towards improving their quality of life