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Co-developing an educational platform against ageism with older adults: A use case from Switzerland

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Title: Co-developing an educational platform against ageism with older adults: A use case from Switzerland
Authors: Wallimann, Miriam, Inerle, Kathrin, Ferrario, Andrea, Benz-Steffen, Erica, Demiray, Burcu
Contributors: University of Zurich, Wallimann, Miriam
Source: Educational Gerontology
Publisher Information: Informa UK Limited, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: 10093 Institute of Psychology, 610 Medicine & health, 2717 Geriatrics and Gerontology, HLC Healthy Longevity Center, 150 Psychology, 3304 Education
Description: Despite urgent calls for action to counter ageism, research-based initiatives in Switzerland are still scarce. To close this gap, the authors of this paper are building an interventional online platform aimed at (1) raising awareness and providing educational materials about ageism, (2) collecting real-life experiences from older citizens, and (3) fostering a community to combat ageism, leveraging the advantages of scalability and accessibility of digital solutions. This research note reports on a co-development process with a sounding board of seven retired adults (Mage = 69.71; four women), highlighting needs and concerns with regard to each of the online platform's aims. Across June-October 2024, four focus group meetings and an online survey was conducted. Qualitative framework analysis identified major needs and concerns for the platform's aims: For aim (1), empowerment of older adults and linking educational resources to actionable guidelines was highlighted. Moreover, avoidance of victimization was identified as a major need. For aim (2), needs for sharing ageism experiences, such as anonymous reporting, were brought up. Difficulty of recognizing ageism in everyday life was found to be a key concern. For aim (3), the need for various online and offline interaction opportunities and active involvement in working toward educational and social objectives, including fostering intergenerational exchanges was stressed. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating older adults' perspectives to address needs and concerns in developing digital intervention approaches combating ageism. We discuss raised issues regarding implications for real-life data collection and educational initiatives.
Educational Gerontology
ISSN:0360-1277
ISSN:1521-0472
Document Type: Article
Other literature type
File Description: application/application/pdf; Co_developing_an_educational_platform_against_ageism_with_older_adults__A_use_case_from_Switzerland.pdf - application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 1521-0472
0360-1277
DOI: 10.1080/03601277.2025.2484333
DOI: 10.3929/ethz-b-000731134
DOI: 10.5167/uzh-277286
Access URL: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/731134
Rights: CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....27d0e8b82a5de46079f502ee9078722e
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:Despite urgent calls for action to counter ageism, research-based initiatives in Switzerland are still scarce. To close this gap, the authors of this paper are building an interventional online platform aimed at (1) raising awareness and providing educational materials about ageism, (2) collecting real-life experiences from older citizens, and (3) fostering a community to combat ageism, leveraging the advantages of scalability and accessibility of digital solutions. This research note reports on a co-development process with a sounding board of seven retired adults (Mage = 69.71; four women), highlighting needs and concerns with regard to each of the online platform's aims. Across June-October 2024, four focus group meetings and an online survey was conducted. Qualitative framework analysis identified major needs and concerns for the platform's aims: For aim (1), empowerment of older adults and linking educational resources to actionable guidelines was highlighted. Moreover, avoidance of victimization was identified as a major need. For aim (2), needs for sharing ageism experiences, such as anonymous reporting, were brought up. Difficulty of recognizing ageism in everyday life was found to be a key concern. For aim (3), the need for various online and offline interaction opportunities and active involvement in working toward educational and social objectives, including fostering intergenerational exchanges was stressed. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating older adults' perspectives to address needs and concerns in developing digital intervention approaches combating ageism. We discuss raised issues regarding implications for real-life data collection and educational initiatives.<br />Educational Gerontology<br />ISSN:0360-1277<br />ISSN:1521-0472
ISSN:15210472
03601277
DOI:10.1080/03601277.2025.2484333