California Assisted Living Association Age-Friendly Language Guide — What we say and how we say it can either be age-friendly or ageist. Language matters and the guide provides tips for keeping your words and framing age-friendly.
Communicating with Older Adults: Recognizing Hidden Traps in Health Care Decision Making — An introduction to common heuristics (mental shortcuts) and biases (predictable systematic errors in reasoning) that could affect health care decisions made by older adults, health care providers, and caregivers. intended for physicians, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, and other health care practitioners who seek to have the best possible interactions with older patients. Understanding the various heuristics and biases that affect our thinking can lead to more informed and productive decisions. Important read for journalists too — as our own biases can affect how we approach coverage of aging.
ICAA’s Guidelines for effective communication with older adults (PDF, 223 KB) — The International Council on Active Aging White Paper. The ICAA wants to change the way older adults are perceived, by changing the language we use and the messages we send about them. This white paper aggregates consensus opinion of stakeholders and organizations about attitudes, words and images, and offers specific recommendations and guidelines for messaging, print and in-person communication.