Ageism, as a mind-set, amplifies a belief that intensive care for the elderly is ineffectual. However, there are little data to support the notion that advanced chronological age alone predicts unfavorable outcomes in response to intensive care. A lack of outcome data, combined with ageism, may place older patients at risk for rationing of Intensive care. Currently, neither public policy nor cultural norms directly support a limitation in services to the elderly. However; as pressure to reduce health care costs increases, critically ill elderly patients may be targeted for rationing. In this context, outcomes research involving elderly-populations is crucial. The purpose of this report is to explicate the risk of ageism in the delivery of intensive care and to describe methods for implementing outcomes assessment for critically ill elderly patients as an essential element in a continuum of care
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1 November 1997
Acute Care of the Aging Client|
November 01 1997
Neutralizing Ageism in Critical Care via Outcomes Research
Diane J. Mick, RN, MSN, CCRN;
From the University of Rochester School of Nursing, New York.
Reprint requests to Diane J. Mick, RN MSN, CCRN, University of Rochester School of Nursing, PO Box SON, 601 Elmwood Ave., Rochester, NY 14642-8404.
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Michael H. Ackermun, RN, DNS, CCRN, FCCM
Michael H. Ackermun, RN, DNS, CCRN, FCCM
From the University of Rochester School of Nursing, New York.
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AACN Adv Crit Care (1997) 8 (4): 597–608.
Citation
Diane J. Mick, Michael H. Ackermun; Neutralizing Ageism in Critical Care via Outcomes Research. AACN Adv Crit Care 1 November 1997; 8 (4): 597–608. doi:
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