Challenging Ageism

What is ageism?

Ageism is all around us. In fact, because ageing is a universal experience, it is an unfortunate reality that most of us will experience ageism at some point in our lifetimes. You may be on the receiving end of it, see it happening to others or perpetuate ageism yourself, even unintentionally.

The Challenging Ageism short courses will shine a light on what it's like to experience ageism and the common assumptions and behaviours that are contributing to ageist attitudes.

In these one-hour courses, you will explore what ageism is, where it comes from and the serious consequences it has for older people and the societies they live in. You will learn to recognise ageism, either within yourself or in a healthcare setting, and explore a range of proactive strategies you can put in place to challenge it.

Challenging Ageism Short Course | Torrens University

Discover our Ageism short courses

Take the first step with our “Challenging ageism for everyone” short course which has been developed for a broader audience, including consumers and students, and for older people themselves.

If you are a professional in a healthcare or aged care setting you can choose to progress to our extension unit “Challenging ageism in health and aged care settings".

Challenging ageism for everyone
This course will support you to identify ageism and provide actionable strategies that you can put in place to address it.
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Challenging ageism in health and aged care settings
Complete this optional extension unit to learn to identify and address ageism specifically in healthcare settings.
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Learn about ageism from experts

Brian Abbey

Brian has a qualification in politics and experience in teaching and management at Monash and Adelaide Universities.

Throughout his career he has directed research in South Australia’s public sector union, worked as an auditor for Veteran Affairs, and written a biography. Today, he is coping with Alzheimer’s and working to educate people about ageism.

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Jennifer Abbey

Jennifer was born in the UK and trained as a nurse at Georges Hospital in London. After immigrating to Australia, she worked in aged care and earned a scholarship to undertake a PhD.

She was the first professor of nursing in aged care at Queensland University of Technology and won a grant for research into dementia. She also developed a scale to measure pain for people with dementia who are unable to verbalise, known as the Abbey Pain Scale and used in most nursing homes in Australia.

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Justin Beilby

Professor Justin Beilby is an academic GP with deep expertise in primary care and aged care research, health service evaluation, general practice intervention studies, and the translation of research findings into policy and clinical practice.

Rachel Ambagtsheer

Rachel is a Research Fellow and Senior Learning Facilitator in Health at Torrens University, with key interests in gerontology and health services research.

She has more than 25 years’ experience working in the health field, as a researcher, planner and consultant to all levels of government and the private and not-for-profit sectors. She is currently Principal Investigator for the IMPAACT Project, a three-year funded MRFF project seeking to improve the involvement of older people in policy discussions about screening for common health conditions. She was recently awarded Distinguished Membership of the Australian Association of Gerontology, also serving on the SA Division Committee, and is an Editorial Board Member for BMC Geriatrics and BMC Health Services Research.

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Lyn Whiteway

Lyn has been a health consumer advocate for many years, and in the last six years has become more involved in research.

Lyn currently sits on the George Institute’s inaugural CAG, the inaugural Flinders Health Medical Research Institute Consumer and Community Involvement Advisory Board, and Asthma Australia’s Research Advisory Committee.

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Explore similar courses

Explore your interest in nursing, community services or counselling further by enrolling in one of our related courses. See how a qualification from Torrens University can help you change the world.