Ageism, defined as stereotyping, prejudice, or discrimination against older people, is an emerging public health concern [1]. Ageist attitudes and behaviors in health care are found to negatively affect the physical and mental well-being of older individuals [2]. This study is the first to investigate ageism and its determinants in Lebanese healthcare settings.

We diffused an online survey including the Fraboni Scale for Ageism (FSA) [3] and other variables to nurses, physicians, nursing, and medical students at an urban university hospital in Lebanon. We obtained online consent from participants prior to filling the survey. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of St. Georges Hospital University Medical Center (IRB-REC/O/066-21/3321).

We recruited 233 participants (47.2% medical students, 21.5% nurses, 20.6% physicians and 10.7% nursing students). Mean age was 29.2 (Standard Deviation—SD = 12) years. Almost two-thirds were female. Half the sample came from rural areas. Almost 60% currently live or have lived with an adult aged≥ 60 years. The FSA total score ranged between 33 and 87 (mean 58.9; SD 10.2). The mean/SD scores were 22.6 (4.5), 17.2 (3.2) and 19.1 (4.3) for the antilocution, discrimination and avoidance subscales of the FSA respectively. There was a positive correlation between age and FSA total score (p=0.041), in addition to discrimination and avoidance subscores (p=0.0001). Originating from rural areas was associated with significantly lower discrimination scores. Living or having lived with an older individual was associated with significantly lower overall ageism and discrimination scores. In addition, students (nursing and medical) were found to have lower ageist perceptions and attitudes compared to healthcare professionals (nurses and physicians). Table 1 shows the results of bivariate analyses performed. Regression analyses showed that only living or having lived with an older person remained significantly associated with lower ageism scores (p=0.036) after accounting for other covariables.

Lower ageism was found among students compared to practicing nurses and physicians. Having lived with an older person was a protective factor against ageism. Specific anti-ageism interventions may need to be implemented to mitigate its impact in healthcare among students and practitioners.

Table 1

Bivariate analyses of FSA total score and subscores on covariates of interest