Estereotipos negativos de la vejez en los nuevos médicos internos residentes

Abstract

Objectives

To determine the presence of negative stereotypes of old age in new medical intern residents (MIR) of the Community of Madrid.

Material and methods

A descriptive cross-sectional survey study of first year MIRs was carried out anonymously during the process of registration at the Madrid College of Physicians between 25/03 and 26/05 of 2023. The Questionnaire of Negative Stereotypes towards Old Age (CENVE) and the Let's Fight All Together Against Ageism (LTJCE) survey were used.

Results

A total of 829 new MIRs were included, with a mean age of 26.0 (standard deviation [SD] = 3.5) years. According to the LTJCE survey, 29.1% consider that in general older people are similar to each other; 47.5%, that deterioration of health in old age is inevitable, 26.8% that old age begins at 60 years; 30.5%, that age per se is a determinant when making clinical decisions and 31.0%, that aging is an obstacle that we must overcome in order to lead a healthy life. The mean total score of the CENVE scale (range 15-60) was 28.3 (SD = 7.0) and the means of the different factors (range 5-20) were 8.6 (SD = 2.8) for health; 9.8 (SD = 2.6) for motivational-social; 10.0 (SD = 2.7) for character-personality.

Conclusions

Most new MIRs do not present old age-related stereotypes.