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Chapter 5
Impact of the age awareness workshop
Although the workshop resulted in improvements in ageist attitudes and ageing expectations in both
CALD and non-CALD respondents, the differences between these two groups persisted across the
study.92
On the AAS, the group differences appear to have been driven primarily by scores on the benevolent
ageism subscale, rather than the hostile ageism subscale. Across all surveys, workers from CALD
backgrounds had a higher tendency to agree with the statements displaying benevolent ageism, such
as:
•
•
‘Older people need to be protected from the harsh realities of society’
‘It is good to speak slowly to old people because it may take them a while to understand things
that are said to them’.
Although workers from CALD backgrounds displayed slightly lower expectations of ageing across
surveys, the scores of both CALD and non-CALD groups on the ERA-12 fell within similar ranges,
particularly in the two surveys following the workshop.93 The differences were somewhat more
pronounced on the cognitive function subscale. Respondents from CALD backgrounds were more likely
to agree with the statements indicating that trouble remembering and decreased cognitive processing
speed are natural consequences of ageing.
On the FSA, respondents from CALD backgrounds tended to have a higher level of agreement with
statements demonstrating prejudice and discriminatory attitudes, such as:
•
•
‘Most old people should not be trusted to take care of infants’
‘Most old people should not be allowed to renew their driver’s licence‘.
However, it should be noted that a high majority of respondents from CALD backgrounds still disagreed
with the above statements across all surveys (83% and 81%, respectively).
Given the relatively small sample size, particularly of respondents from CALD backgrounds in the
follow-up survey,94 it is important to approach these findings with caution.
Further research is recommended to explore whether cultural and linguistic diversity influences how
scales, such as the FSA and AAS, are interpreted, and what impact this has on individuals’ response
styles.
(e) Workshop mode of delivery
The online and face-to-face workshops had similar results in prompting positive changes among
respondents. Across all measures of ageism and ageing expectations, both online and face-to-face
sessions resulted in significant reductions in ageist views and improvements in ageing attitudes.95
These findings suggest that online interventions may be a convenient and low-cost alternative to faceto-face interventions.
Overall, the quantitative data from the surveys demonstrates sustained, significant improvements in
attitudes and expectations regarding ageing and older adults following the workshop.
Additionally, qualitative data from open-ended survey questions96 and post-workshop discussions
provided more detailed insights about the specific domains where the workshop had a significant
impact or influence. These are discussed in the following sections.