Institutional Ageism Perception in Health Contexts Scale (IAPHe): Psychometric study with professionals who work with older adults.

Alongside the aging population, ageism toward older adults has been observed in various contexts, including the care of older adults. This study focuses on institutional ageism, in health contexts and aims to assert the psychometric capabilities of the IAPHe scale with professionals who work directly with older adults. Two hundred and forty professionals who work with older adults (223 women), from 21 to 65 years old (<italic>M</italic> = 37.97 years old; <italic>SD</italic> = 11.72) participated in the present study. The IAPHe scale has 18 items, which describe ageist situations. A confirmatory factorial analysis for the scale’s internal structure indicates the presence of three dimensions of institutional ageism evaluated by the IAPHe scale: 1) Perceived Direct Discrimination, 2) Perceived Indirect Discrimination, and 3) Perceived Discriminatory Communication. The analysis of correlations between the total and the scale domains with other variables highlights the importance of scholarity and specific training about aging to the perceived level of institutional ageism, with higher levels reported by professionals with higher educational levels and training about aging. The IAPHe scale thus presents itself as a good measure for institutional ageism assessment with professionals who work directly in the care of older adults. Assessing ageism is the first step toward developing effective interventions to reduce ageist practices and improve older adults’ well-being and quality of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]